Missouri made the game look as if it would be a runaway when it went on an 18-0 run in the first half and opened a 31-9 lead. Turnovers were leading to baskets and when Loyola did get the ball upcourt, it couldn’t make the basket.
And just as quickly, everything changed. Loyola countered that 18-0 spree immediately with a 17-0 run of its own in which it not only was getting the ball upcourt, it couldn’t miss once it got there, getting those 17 points in just nine possessions. Missouri, meanwhile, made just one of its last 12 shots in the first half and led only 35-31 at the break.