COLUMBIA - Kim Anderson admitted Missouri didn't play well the last time it faced Mississippi.
The Rebels (17-11, 8-7 Southeastern Conference) won 75-71 against the Tigers (7-20, 2-13 SEC) on Jan. 21 at Mizzou Arena. Sebastian Saiz and Terence Davis each had a double-double for the Rebels, with Saiz scoring 19 points with 10 rebounds and Davis scoring 18 points and adding 11 rebounds.
Mississippi's 1-3-1 defense limited Missouri to a 27-of-61 performance from the field.
"A team I think that's playing pretty well now, you look back at the first game when we played them I don't think we played very well at all and we really struggled against their 1-3-1 defense," Anderson said of Mississippi. "For some reason we struggled against it, we've seen it a bunch we finally got that straightened out and got back in the game and had it tied I think at one point in the second half."
The two teams meet again at 2:30 p.m. today in Oxford, Miss.
Forward Kevin Puryear had perhaps his best game of the season for Missouri in that contest. Puryear had a career-high 26 points while shooting 11-of-14 from the field. He also shot 4-of-4 from 3.
Puryear, though, is coming off what might have been his worst performance of the season when Missouri lost 72-62 against No. 11 Kentucky on Tuesday. The sophomore shot 1-of-11 from the field and 2-of-7 from the free throw line. He also struggled inside against Kentucky's Edrice Adebayo.
"He had a tough game," Anderson said of Puryear. "And we all have tough games and I'm sure no one hates it more than him that he had a tough game at an inopportune time. He's had some great games too."
Adebayo went 6-of-9 from the field and also went 10-of-13 from the line. He had a double-double with 22 points and 15 rebounds. It didn't help Puryear, however, that Missouri centers Russell Woods and Reed Nikko fouled out with a combined 24 minutes played between them.
"Kevin is a little bit undersized probably to play post in the SEC but that doesn't mean he can't be effective and he's worked extremely hard," Anderson said of his 6-foot-7, 243-pound forward. "The thing we've talked to him about and he's worked on it is consistency from the perimeter."
Puryear has shot 13-of-47 on 3s this season. In addition to going 4-of-4 from 3 against Mississippi, Puryear was 3-of-3 against Vanderbilt. But he has not made a 3 in the three games since Vanderbilt, going a combined 0-for-8 from the arc.
Still, Anderson has confidence in Puryear from 3.
"I have a lot of assistant coaches around the state that will communicate with me and say, 'why do you keep letting him shoot from the outside' and my answer is because he can make it," Anderson said. "He comes to practice and he makes a good share of shots from the outside. I think he can make them, that's why he shoots them."
Notes: Anderson said Nikko is still feeling the effects of a high ankle sprain he suffered Nov. 26 and missed the next four games. Anderson does not anticipate Nikko being back to 100 percent until the season ends. "The offseason development is going to be really, really critical for him as far as getting his ankle back where he's got some more flexibility," Anderson said. "He's got his hips fixed to have more flexibility but his ankle, he's got that high ankle sprain and that takes away from his movement." Missouri will attempt to break a 33-game road losing streak today at Mississippi.