GAME NOTES: The Missouri Tigers face a tough home test on Saturday when they host the Xavier Musketeers at Mizzou Arena.

Missouri has gotten off to an uneven start to the season but recently outlasted Elon, 78-73, on Thursday. The Tigers raced out to a 46-27 halftime lead before fending off a late Elon run.

Johnathan Williams III tallied 16 points and eight rebounds, while Keith Shamburger also made an impact with 16 points and five assists for the victors. D'Angelo Allen provided a spark off the bench with 12 points and seven rebounds as Missouri picked up its third win in four outings.

Offense has not usually been that easy to come by for the Tigers, who are only scoring 65.4 ppg while committing 14.1 turnovers per outing. Luckily the team has been bailed out on occasion by a scoring defense that yields only 66.4 ppg. Montaque Gill-Caesar shoots less than 39 percent from the field, but generates enough volume to put up a team-best 13.6 ppg. Williams is the only other player in double figures with 11.7 ppg to go with 5.9 rpg.

Williams has poured in 50 points over the last three contests.

Xavier dropped its final two games on a three-game sojourn in California, but has since rallied with two consecutive wins, including a 66-43 drubbing of IUPUI on Tuesday.

The Musketeers only led by four, 27-23, at halftime before pouring it on in the second half. Xavier opened the second half on a 24-6 run to take complete control of the contest. Trevon Bluiett led the way with 12 points, Remy Abell added 11, and Dee Davis dished out six assists.

An offensive clinic has been taking place for Xavier, which is putting up a lofty 85.1 ppg on 52.6 percent shooting, ranking among the top-15 teams in the country in each category while sitting third in assists (19.4 apg).

Bluiett has burst onto the scene with a 14.7 ppg average in his freshman campaign, while Matt Stainbrook is not far behind with 14.2 ppg. Five more players are logging at least seven points per outing.

Myles Davis (10.1 ppg) has been a nice option off the bench and Dee Davis (8.6 ppg, 6.2 apg) makes sure to keep everyone involved with his ability to move the ball.

These non-conference foes have split four all-time meetings.