COLUMBIA- The Mssouri Tigers entered Saturday's game against Arkansas-Pine Bluff without senior J.T. Tiller, a consistent starter and the man Coach Mike Anderson describes as "the face of the program." See how the Tigers overcame his absence.
The Tigers jumped out early to a healthy lead over the Arkansas-Pine Bluff Lions, and for 32 minutes they led by double digits. Playing without J.T. Tiller led to key minutes at the guard position for Marcus Denmon, Michael Dixon, and Miguel Paul. Denmon added his own exclamation point with nine rebounds.
New MU alum Zaire Taylor says while Tiller brings intangibles on the court, the Tigers are ok without him.
"He's the vocal leader. He's been here the longest. He brings more energy than anyone else in the country. Of course, you always need that, but everyone on this team, we're all comfortable with one another from the leading scorer to whoever is playing the least amount of minutes. This team is just one unit," Taylor said.
Coach Anderson says even without Tiller on the court, the Tigers felt his presence.
"I saw J.T. even at halftime, the leadership I'm talking about. I saw him out there, getting the guys together, and really talking. A lot of times J.T. smiles, and he just does it by example. But this time he was really getting into the guys in terms of what had to take place, so that first five minutes I thought we came out and forced our way," Anderson said.
Meanwhile, Kim English turned in another stellar performance with 18 points to lead the team.
The Tigers have a few days off until Wednesday when they head to the Braggin' Rights game in St. Louis against the Illinois Fighting Illini.
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