Jimmy V Classic: No. 10 Missouri Holds Off Villanova, 81-71

After dominating in the first half and holding off a furious Villanova comeback attempt midway through the second, the No. 10 Missouri Tigers staved off the Wildcats and cruised to a 10-point victory at Madison Square Garden in the first game of the Jimmy V Classic.

The Tigers were led by senior guard Marcus Denmon, who continued his torrid start (he was averaging 20.8 points per game going into Tuesday night's contest) with 28 points on 10-18 shooting, going 6-11 from three-point territory. Senior point guard Phil Pressey struggled with foul trouble in the first half and shooting troubles throughout, but dished out 12 assists to key the Tigers' fast-paced attack under head coach Frank Haith. Missouri's lone starting forward, senior Ricardo Ratliffe, finished with a double-double, going for 17 and 10 while missing just one shot from the field.

Villanova played a solid game offensively, but simply couldn't stop Missouri's attack, and their defensive woes prevented them from staying competitive for much of this game. Down close to 20 points early in the second half, 'Nova closed the gap to five with a little more than 10 minutes left in the game. A few quick buckets from the Tigers in response, though, and the Wildcats wouldn't recover. Five Wildcats reached double-figures in scoring, including a 12-point, 10-rebound performance from Mouphtaou Yarou and 13 points and eight assists from Maalik Wayns.