COLUMBIA, MO. • The two most joyous moments of the Missouri men’s basketball season, and perhaps the entire Kim Anderson era, rolled off the fingertips of 3-point shots in the final five minutes last Wednesday in Nashville.
The Tigers’ improbable comeback in the first round of the Southeastern Conference tournament headed to overtime on Frankie Hughes’ game-tying buzzer beater in regulation. Kevin Puryear clinched the 86-83 win with a 3-pointer on the final play of the extra session.
When the Tigers needed a basket from 3-point range to preserve the season another day, they got two, both times setting off an eruption on the Mizzou bench and a rare cascade of smiles from Anderson all the way down to the walk-ons and student managers at the other end.