Dallas ? Jamel White and Jason Dourisseau made sure all those missed free throws didn’t lead to another early departure from the Big 12 tournament for Nebraska.
White made a tiebreaking 3-pointer with 1:15 left and added a key rebound after that to go with a couple of emphatic dunks by Dourisseau in the closing minutes of the Huskers’ 71-64 opening-round victory over Missouri on Thursday night.
“The shot clock was going down a little bit. My teammates found me in the right place,” White said.
The 3-pointer from the right wing put Nebraska (18-12) ahead 67-64 in its first Big 12 tournament victory since 1999. He then grabbed the rebound at the other end when Thomas Gardner missed a 3-pointer, and Missouri didn’t score again.
“I feel really good for our team because they wanted to go play ball,” coach Barry Collier said. “I thought our focus was really good. We started well again in the second half, pushed out to a good lead, but Missouri didn’t stop. It was a tough game.”
Missouri’s first-ever loss in the opening round of the Big 12 tournament finally ended the school’s 100th season of basketball, one that didn’t provide any reason for celebration for the Tigers (12-16).
Missouri Coach Quin Snyder resigned Feb. 10, a day after he vowed to finish his seventh season — the first four ended in the NCAAs before NIT appearances the last two years. He said he was told by an athletic department employee that his contract would be terminated after the season.
The Tigers have consecutive losing seasons. Before last year, they had finished under .500 only once since their last back-to-back losing seasons in 1978-79 under coach Norm Stewart.
It was likely the last game for interim coach Melvin Watkins, despite his desire to remain the coach. He thanked the players for standing by him over the last month.
“All the things we’ve been through this year, under the circumstance, I wanted to thank the team, hug them,” said Watkins, 2-5 since Snyder resigned. “I encouraged them to go back and be students. You can’t just stop your life.”
Dourisseau had 20 points on 8-of-12 shooting, including a slam dunk and a free throw after being fouled with 24 seconds left.
“I figured if I didn’t try dunking it, I would’ve gotten it blocked,” Dourisseau said. “I had a lane to the basket.”
Aleks Maric finished with 19 points on 7-of-10 shooting for Nebraska, which plays No. 22 Oklahoma (20-6) in a quarterfinal game Friday night.
Nebraska blew a 12-point lead in the second half, and was almost done in by its 14-of-28 free-throw shooting. The Huskers made only half of their eight attempts after taking a 47-35 lead on Dourisseau’s layup with 14:10 left.
Mizzou pushed ahead 58-57 when Gardner made two free throws with 6:42 left. It was the Tigers’ first lead since early in the game — and their last.
Maric hit his second free throw attempt with 6:17 left to tie the game at 58-all. Dourisseau’s one-handed follow-up slam made it 63-60 with 4 minutes left, and Missouri tied it for the last time at 64 when Gardner made two free throws with 1:51 left.
Jimmy McKinney, a senior, who won’t play in the NCAA or NIT for the first time, had 15 points and Gardner had 13 for the Tigers.
“It’s sunk in. When the clock was ticking, I was really conscious of it,” McKinney said. “It’s pretty hard, especially for me, the captain. I think any competitor doesn’t want to lose. To go out like we did is demoralizing.”
