COLUMBIA | DeMarre Carroll contends Missouri learned a lot about itself in a 16-point loss to Illinois back on Dec. 23.</p><p>&#8220;It made us look at a lot of things in perspective,&#8221; Carroll said. &#8220;We realize now we&#8217;re not as good as we thought we were.&#8221;</p><p>So what did the Tigers discover about themselves in last Saturday&#8217;s 56-51 loss at Nebraska?</p><p>That this team, despite a victory at Georgia, victories over USC and California and a close loss to Xavier, may not be good enough to end a five-year NCAA Tournament drought?</p><p>Well, coach Mike Anderson hasn&#8217;t reached that conclusion. His Tigers, after all, are still 13-3 and only 0-1 in the Big 12 Conference with seemingly winnable home games tonight against Colorado and Saturday afternoon against Iowa State.</p><p>&#8220;We&#8217;ve got to show up each and every night to play,&#8221; Anderson said.</p><p>&#8220;We did a better job in the second half. We&#8217;ll get better from that.&#8221;</p><p>Yes, Missouri wiped out an 18-point deficit at Nebraska. Tied the game at 51-51 with 1 minute, 41 seconds to play.</p><p>Then lost the game down the stretch &#8212; as Missouri has so many games in the Mike Anderson Era &#8212; ignoring the very thing that got the Tigers back in the game in the first place.</p><p>Throwing the ball inside to Leo Lyons, and letting Lyons wheel and deal his way to the basket or the free-throw line by virtue of a hack or a hold.</p><p>&#8220;When we got to that point,&#8221; Lyons said, &#8220;we kind of forgot what got us there. We started shooting jump shots. A lot of guys were rushing, doing things we didn&#8217;t have to do.&#8221;</p><p>Lyons won&#8217;t be part of the solution tonight, of course. On Monday, he was suspended after he was arrested on multiple traffic violations Sunday night.</p><p>Just what the Tigers needed after a pratfall on Saturday that had Anderson &#8212; according to the coach and players &#8212; turning up the heat behind the locker-room door at a half Missouri trailed by 14.</p><p>Anderson has maintained his cool, saving all but general criticism for the privacy of non-media situations.</p><p>Hey, Anderson has a clause in his contract directing him to make happy rather than throw out negative thoughts about his program, players and school.</p><p>&#8220;It seemed like we were right there at a break point where we were one point down, two points down,&#8221; Anderson said. &#8220;Had some nice shots. Even tied it up. We just couldn&#8217;t get over the hump. But it wasn&#8217;t because our guys didn&#8217;t try.&#8221;</p><p>Anderson&#8217;s most common reference is to an amorphous &#8220;intensity&#8221; that he deems so important to Missouri&#8217;s success or failure, even when that intensity can lead to both extremes.</p><p>For example, no one questions Carroll&#8217;s intensity. But Carroll&#8217;s attempts to dribble through double and triple teams at Nebraska in the first half led to three turnovers and no points.</p><p>Intensity, without a plan, becomes counterproductive. And as Missouri has shown so often down the stretch of close games under Anderson the last two and a half seasons, intensity is no substitute for a winning game plan when the game is on the line.Not that Lyons was any better. He had three turnovers and no points in the first half as well.</p><p>Missouri does appear to have the kind of talent to compete in what appears to be a very watered-down Big 12.</p><p>Juniors Zaire Taylor and Keith Ramsey and three of five freshmen scholarship players have gained enough experience now to help in the immediate future and not just next season.</p><p>&#8220;They came off that bench at Georgia and played good,&#8221; Ramsey said of the freshmen. &#8220;They aren&#8217;t freshmen anymore.&#8221;</p><p>Carroll contends, again, that Missouri has learned a valuable lesson, one that should help in coming games.</p><p>&#8220;Me and Leo talked to each other,&#8221; Carroll said. &#8220;We said we&#8217;re not going out playing like we&#8217;re playing.&#8221;</p><p>Good idea. Continue playing like Missouri played at Nebraska and these Tigers don&#8217;t stand much of a chance of being invited to anything better in the postseason than the NIT.</p><p>That is a concern that Anderson is downplaying for now.</p><p>&#8220;It&#8217;s a marathon, not a sprint,&#8221; Anderson said. &#8220;There&#8217;s a lot of basketball left. It is still early. And hopefully, it will be a lesson learned.&#8221;