Missouri throws away chance at good resume win in blowout loss to Auburn

In 1992, legendary Missouri coach Norm Stewart notched his 500th career win against a young Bruce Pearl, who was four games into his job as head coach at Southern Indiana, a Division II school.

On Wednesday, Pearl, now the coach at No. 19 Auburn, returned the favor with a 91-73 win over the Tigers to put current MU coach Cuonzo Martin’s 200th career win on hold another night.

Auburn’s defense gave Missouri fits as the visiting Tigers forced numerous turnovers, miscommunication, foul trouble and bad shooting, giving Missouri a loss in a game that would have helped its NCAA Tournament chances.

Pearl’s squad came into Wednesday’s game known for its three-point and free-throw shooting and backed up the numbers, shooting 45 percent from deep and 88 percent from the line.

Missouri’s offense struggled from the start.

The Tigers started 1 for 7 from inside the paint, with all six misses being blocked by Auburn. The three-point shooting Missouri relies on so heavily had a tough start, with the team going 3 for 10.

Despite coming in with a size advantage on Auburn, Missouri freshman Jeremiah Tilmon got into his usual bout of foul trouble, leaving senior Jordan Barnett to carry the offense. Barnett scored 12 of Missouri’s first 18 points, with all of his baskets coming on threes.

Junior point guard Jordan Geist helped contribute on offense, scoring 10 points in the first half, while graduate transfer Kassius Robertson and freshman Jontay Porter struggled to put points on the board.

“I got a lot of respect for Geist,” Pearl said.

MU’s tactless fouls helped give Auburn easy points, since the team usually shoots around 80 percent from the free-throw line, which ranks in the top 10 nationally. The visiting Tigers shot 90 percent from the line in the first half, and got huge baskets from the team’s three-headed guard attack of Jared Harper, Bryce Brown and Mustapha Heron.

“We did a really good job turning them over and turning our defense into offense” Pearl said.

Missouri dug itself a deeper hole with multiple offensive possessions in which a player threw the ball away or had a careless turnover. MU’s size advantage came in handy on the boards, with a 28-15 rebounding advantage in the first half that helped give the team the extra opportunities it needed on offense.

A late three by Porter sent Missouri into halftime down 41-36.

Martin’s squad came out of halftime with similar problems when Tilmon quickly picked up two more fouls, which sent him back to the bench, and Missouri threw away a few more possessions on offense. Martin left Tilmon in after he picked up his third foul, and defended his decision, saying that the 6-foot-11 freshman needs to learn how to play in situations in which he can’t afford to pick up an additional foul.

“At some point you have to play going through it,” Martin said. “He has to learn and fight through it.”

Martin said after the game he’s considered trying different approaches with Tilmon, including bringing him off the bench to give him a few minutes to see how a game is being called.

Barnett and Robertson led an 8-0 run over a 90-second span to get the deficit down to a single point with 14:22 left in the second half. Robertson’s three cut the Auburn lead to 49-48 with 14:22 left, causing Pearl to call a timeout. Robertson led MU with 21 points, and Barnett added 19.

“I saw some energy in their eyes,” Martin said. “I said it’s because the shots are falling. And you have to be able to play at a high level whether or not the shot is falling. I think that’s the area we have to continue to grow and get better at.”

Missouri kept the deficit within single-digits for about 3 minutes, until Geist threw away a pass, which took away the Tigers’ momentum. At the time, Missouri trailed 54-52 with 11:39 remaining.

Auburn responded with a 20-2 run that took Missouri out of the game for good. Mizzou was suddenly down 20 points with 7:33 left. Harper, Heron and Davion Mitchell hit shots from all over the floor to hammer the final nail in Missouri’s coffin. Harper led Auburn with 17 points in the win and was one of five players in double figures.

Mizzou wouldn’t come within striking distance for the rest of the game as the team dropped its second consecutive game for the first time this season.

“We’re not good enough offensively to win games there, so we know we have to bring it on defense,” Geist said.

No. 19 AUBURN 91, MISSOURI 73

This story was originally published January 24, 2018 at 10:21 PM with the headline "Missouri throws away chance at good resume win in blowout loss to Auburn."