The difference maker was sophomore Nikola Knezevic, who replaced senior Eric Vierneisel to start the second half. Knezevic played all 20 minutes, and contributed seven points, two assists and two steals, but his real effect doesn't really show up in the box score.
At 14:32 in the first half, DeVon Hardin was whistled for his second personal foul when Missouri was leading 9-7. "We had to protect DeVon at that point," Braun said, "so we switched to a zone and it almost cost us the game."
Missouri coach Mike Anderson turned to Matt Lawrence to attack the zone, and Lawrence hit five of the eight treys to lead all scorers 15 points at the break. Missouri was ahead on the scoreboard too, 45-37.
Missouri shot the lights out in the first half, connecting on 17 of 26 shots for an incredible 65.4%. They had to - the Tigers had only managed eight rebounds in the half, while Cal had eight offensive boards and 17 total rebounds - more than double Mizzou's count.
"We had to make an adjustment at halftime," Braun said, "and Nikola was very strong for us in the second half." Knezevic was assigned to Lawrence and shut him down cold, holding him to 0-for-4 from the field and just two free throws in the second half.
"There's no question," said game high scorer Patrick Christopher after the game, "Nick would get the game ball."
Shutting down Matt Lawrence forced the Tigers to diversify their offense. As a result, five Missouri players wound up in double figures. Senior point guard Stefhon Hannah had broken through the 20-point plateau four times already this year, including a career-high 28 against Arkansas Wednesday night. He and center DeMarre Carroll both finished with 14; Leo Lyons added a dozen, and Keon Lawrence put it 11 off the bench.
The Tigers play a smothering trapping pressure defense. "We told our kids that even if they got through the first trap, Missouri would immediately back-trap again," Braun said. Christopher, who finished with 18 points, 11 in the second half, said that, "we practiced bringing the ball up against seven defenders."
It was only fitting that Cal's first second-half lead came at 64-63 off a penetration layup by Knezevic with 8:57 remaining in the game. Lyons hit a free throw to tie the game, but at the 7:57 mark Jerome Randle dropped in his second three-ball of the game and the Golden Bears were never headed again.
The second half didn't start well. Missouri hit two quick buckets out of halftime, then, after a Randle jumper, Hannah drained a long three to give the Tigers a 13-point advantage at 52-39 with 18:54 to play. Then Cal began to chip away - a Randle jumper, a pair of free throws from Ryan Anderson (who registered another double-double with 15 points and 11 rebounds), and then a three-point play from Hardin, who finished with 16 points and 12 boards to close the gap to six within just 90 seconds of play.
Keon Lawrence and Lyons each hit buckets, but Christopher took over for a while, scoring 7 of his second-half 11 points to bring the Golden Bears within two at 56-54 with 12 minutes left to play.
Darryl Butterfield hit his only basket of the night for Mizzou to stretch the lead to 58-54. To that point, Cal had been "generating our own excitement," as Braun told his team at halftime - the "Mic Men" were busy at the Big Game across the bay, as were all the cheerleaders and the band.
The Mic Men and a pair of cheerleaders showed up at the 11:30 mark. From that point on, Cal outscored Missouri 32-14; never before have Cal fans so appreciated the contributions their cheerleaders can make. The Tigers made baskets on just 8 of 29 possessions after their initial two buckets, and Cal not only put a lid on the Tigers' basket, they also racked up 18 rebounds on Tiger missed shots in the second stanza, finishing the game out rebounding Missouri 41-20.
The Tigers' pressure defense particularly affected Randle, who finished with 10 of his team's 18 turnovers, but Knezevic helped bring the ball upcourt against the press and helped Cal break that press repeatedly after intermission.
"I thought the turnovers we had in the first half led to their scores," Braun said. "In the second half, we said let's cut down on the turnovers, and let's make sure they don't score off them either." Missouri had 14 points off turnovers at halftime, then added just three more in the second half. By the end of the game Cal led in every category, with 40 points in the paint to UM's 24; 17 second-chance points to UM's 6 and 18 points off turnovers to UM's 17.
In the game's final ten minutes that began with Mizzou leading 61-58, the Bears held the Tigers to just two field goals. The Tigers didn't help their own cause by hitting on just 5 of 10 free throws. Cal, meanwhile, converted all 11 of their free throws in that period. "I had a ton of turnovers," Randle admitted, "but Nikola came in and took the load off me (by helping bring the ball upcourt.) I won't lie, I was getting tired out there," Randle said. He's is just four weeks removed from a kidney biopsy and was not able to practice with the team until after the season began.
Cal had five players in double figures, led by Christopher's 18; they also got 16 from Hardin and Randle, 15 from Ryan Anderson, and 11 from Harper Kamp off the bench.
Hardin's 12 rebounds broke his streak of four straight game with at least 14 boards. The last Cal player to have a longer streak was Darrall Imhoff in 1959-1960, Pete Newell's final season as Cal's head coach.
Fans will have to climb into the Way-Back machine to find the last time Cal started a season 6-0. It was 1967, under coach Rene Herrerias, when the Bears defeated Idaho, St. Mary's, San Francisco, Iowa, Illinois and SMU before losing to Western Kentucky at the end of December. The Golden Bears face Jackson State at Haas Wednesday night at 7:30 with a chance to hit that mark.
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