TAMPA, Fla. — It just had to be him.
In Missouri men’s basketball’s season-ending loss to LSU, its former point guard came out with a point to prove. Xavier Pinson scored 11 points on 3-of-6 shooting from the field shooting in LSU’s 76-68 win over coach Cuonzo Martin’s Tigers in what may have been Martin’s final game with MU.
"X (Pinson) got off to a great start," LSU coach Will Wade said. "He won't say it, but it does mean more to him when they play Missouri. ... He spent three years at Mizzou, so I think it does mean a little more to him."
From the moment he scored the first points of the game on an uncontested layup, Pinson was in control. Missouri had no answer for its former playmaker. Even with a double-team, Pinson was almost untouchable. In a full-court press on defense, he suffocated Missouri. When he brought the ball up the floor, he was almost toying with whichever Missouri defender had the unfortunate task of guarding him.
Despite not scoring in the second half, he was still effective. He worked out of a double-team late in the second half, leading to Eric Gaines' dagger of a dunk after a faked 3.
Gaines finished with 11 points.
"(Pinson's) a good basketball player," Martin said. "He's a guy who started almost three years before he got to this point, so he understands how to play basketball."
Pinson’s big game comes just under a year since he lost in the first round of the NCAA Tournament with Missouri against Oklahoma, when he did not play in the final four minutes of the game. He entered the transfer portal two days later and announced his final two choices as LSU and Kansas.
He played well throughout the game. Pinson had seven points before Martin burned his first timeout, including a 3-pointer. Backpedaling, Pinson lifted his left hand to his mouth and blew a kiss in the direction of Marching Mizzou. In the early moments of the game, it may as well have been a kiss goodbye to his former team — and possibly a kiss goodbye to his former coach.
As Missouri shifts into its offseason, questions about the future of the program that have been raised throughout the season come to the fore. The 2021-22 season was the sixth in program history featuring 20 or more losses and the fourth time the grim mark has been met since 2014. Questions about Martin’s future have been common since the opening tip Nov. 9 against Central Michigan and will only intensify in the days to come.
MU athletic director Desiree Reed-Francois will reportedly meet with Martin in the coming days.
"I'm at peace with whatever," Martin said of his future. "If that's the best thing for both parties, that's the best thing for both parties. I won't waste any time with that. Whatever happens, happens."
Pinson wasn’t alone in the act. Most of his work was finished before the final media timeout of the first half.
Darius Days chipped in with 16 points, while Tari Eason had a game-high 19.
"We had five guys in double figures which was really good," Wade said. "(We) gotta play better tomorrow, but we're happy to get the win."
Trevon Brazile's career-high 15 points weren't enough for Missouri. Neither were DaJuan Gordon's 19 or Javon Pickett's 14.
Kobe Brown finished with seven points. MU finished the season without winning a game in which he scored fewer than 10 points.
Missouri trailed by as many as 25 points in the first half, but battled back to get it as close as eight in the final moments of the game. Pickett, MU's lone senior, has not made a decision on whether he will return for his final year of eligibility or not.
"I was happy to see the way we kept fighting," Pickett said. "They just made me proud."
Missouri struggled throughout the game. Martin's Tigers finished with a season-high 24 turnovers which led to 29 LSU points. Kobe and Kaleb Brown had five giveaways each. Four of the eight available MU players finished with two or more turnovers.
Despite the standout display from several of Wade’s Tigers, Pinson being the one to send Missouri packing gave the game an extra element. After his frustrations at Missouri last season reached boiling point, he found the right passes and shots to end MU’s season and potentially Martin’s tenure in Columbia.
"I don't think there was extra motivation (for Pinson)," Eason said. "We wanted another crack at Arkansas, so I think that was motivation in itself. Maybe X had a little more (interest) because it was his old school, but it was motivation nonetheless."
And through it all, he had a smile on his face. Pinson enjoyed every moment of ending his former team’s time in Tampa. He enjoyed ending his former team's season.
He may very well have enjoyed ending his former coach's tenure at Missouri.
