No need to trademark this slogan, even if it did work perfectly for Missouri this time.
Mizzou cruises
 Video: Hear from Missouri after its 78-59 first-round win over Cornell. |
"20 Minutes of Hell."
It was more than enough to lift Leo Lyons, DeMarre Carroll and the Tigers to a 78-59 win over Cornell in the first round of the NCAA tournament Friday.
Lyons finished with 23 points and 10 rebounds and Carroll, the coach's nephew, had all but two of his 13 points in the second half to help the third-seeded Tigers (29-6) pull away after a slow opening 20 minutes.
"I thought the second half was typical of our basketball team all year long," said coach Mike Anderson, a longtime assistant of Nolan Richardson's in Arkansas when "40 Minutes of Hell" was a college hoops catchphrase.
Anderson is trying to bring that intensity to Missouri, and it has led to the program's first NCAA appearance in six years - and first win. Next up for the Tigers in the West Regional: a second-round game against Marquette on Sunday.
Ryan Wittman led the Ivy League champions with 18 points and by controlling the pace, 14th-seeded Cornell (21-10) found itself trailing by only four at the half.
