COLUMBIA, MO. (AP) - Marcus Denmon scored 24 points to lead No. 9 Missouri to a 97-61 blowout victory over Northern Illinois on Monday night.
Matt Pressey added a career-high 18 points for Missouri (12-1), which scored the first 17 points of the game and held the largest halftime lead against a Division I opponent in school history at 40-points. The Tigers connected on 69 percent of their shots in the opening frame and scored a season-best 57 points.
It was 100th win for coach Mike Anderson, who became the fastest coach in program history to reach that mark, needing just 147 games.
Michael Dixon was held out of the starting lineup for the second straight game after being reinstated in time for the Tigers most recent 75-64 win over Illinois. The sophomore was suspended two games for an undisclosed violation of team rules.
Dixon, who started the Tigers’ first nine games, finished with eight points and team-high eight assists.
Laurence Bowers finished with 16 points and Ricardo Ratliffe scored 14 for Missouri, which had five players in double figures.
Tim Toller led Northern Illinois in scoring with 13 points.
Xavier Silas, who came in to the game as the nation’s second leading scorer at 26.2 per game, finished with just eight points for the Huskies (3-7).
The Tigers finished with 26 assists on 37 field goals. Missouri currently ranks ninth in the country averaging 18.3 assists.
The win pushes Missouri’s home court non-conference winning streak to 55 games with all but seven of those victories coming under Anderson.
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