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Wordle | Feb. 16
Missouri basketball didn’t expect Trent Burns to play nearly 20 minutes against Vanderbilt. However, when starting center Shawn Phillips Jr. went to the bench early due to foul trouble, the redshirt freshman was called on to handle extended time at the five — and he gave the Tigers exactly what they needed.
Burns logged a season-high 18 minutes in Missouri’s win, finishing with seven rebounds and a team-best +19 plus-minus. In a game that featured a 21-point Tiger lead and a late Vanderbilt push that trimmed the margin to one possession, his minutes helped shape the stretch that ultimately decided the outcome.
Head coach Dennis Gates didn’t hesitate to sing his praises when asked about his top performer.
“Our player of the game was Trent Burns … We need somebody to step up, especially at the five spot,” Gates said. “His teammates did a great job of pushing him through … And that was the response that we needed.”
Burns’ impact was most noticeable during Missouri’s second-half surge. As the Tigers built separation, Vanderbilt struggled to generate clean looks inside. Commodores head coach Mark Byington credited Missouri’s physicality and size for disrupting rhythm and limiting space.
“Their size and positional size can be imposing,” Byington said. “I think we kind of fell into what they want us to do.”
When asked specifically about Burns, Byington acknowledged the challenge he presented.
“He’s a big body out there,” Byington said. “I think he held it down for them … We thought we might be able to exploit him on defense a little bit, and he did a good job recovering. We really couldn’t take advantage of him.”
That reliability mattered. For much of the season, Missouri has had to downsize when Phillips Jr. leaves the floor, sliding forwards into the five and adjusting defensively. Against the Commodores, however, the Tigers stayed big and maintained their structure. Burns didn’t try to do too much offensively. He rebounded in his area, occupied space in the paint and finished plays created within the flow of the offense.
As Vanderbilt ramped up full-court pressure late and used turnovers to fuel a comeback, Missouri leaned on the cushion it built earlier in the half, a lead that Burns played a significant role in building.
Burns has established himself as a reliable tool for the Tigers during the most important part of the season. To continue to compete for postseason play, Missouri will look to get as much out of Burns as it can.
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