Turnovers kill Missouri’s strong start, doom Tigers in 72-60 loss at Arkansas
A career-night from Mark Smith wasn’t enough for Missouri to solve its problems at Bud Walton Arena, as the Tigers wasted a strong start to lose 72-60 to Arkansas on Wednesday night.
Smith tied his career-high with 22 points, which included six threes, but MU (10-7, 1-4 SEC) was unable to overcome former coach Mike Anderson’s press, which led to loads of MU turnovers.
“It’s pretty much the same old song,” said MU senior Kevin Puryear. “It’s kind of getting exhausting to talk about. Tonight’s loss was self-inflicted.”
Missouri raced out to a 17-4 lead in the first nine minutes, powered by Smith’s shooting and Jeremiah Tilmon’s presence. Tilmon wasn’t fazed by Arkansas star sophomore Daniel Gafford, a consensus first round pick in June’s NBA Draft, and went right after him for a pair of early baskets. Gafford finished wit 13 points and 10 rebounds. He wasn’t called for a single foul.
The Hogs (11-7, 2-4 SEC) did themselves no favors, going over seven minutes without a basket and starting 1-for-12 from the field. A turnover by MU walk-on Ronnie Suggs led to an Arkansas layup, which broke the scoring drought and allowed the Hogs to ramp up their press. Anderson switched to a four-guard lineup to speed up the tempo on Missouri and force them into more traps.
“We knew once we put our guards in they wouldn’t be able to keep up with our speed, our pace,” said Arkansas guard Isaiah Joe.
The Tigers, known for struggling with turnovers, committed 12 in the first half, which led to 11 points for UA. Suggs and freshman Torrence Watson struggled to make clean passes in the press, which led to a 6-0 Arkansas run to cut MU’s lead to five points. Freshman Xavier Pinson, who made his first appearance since MU’s loss to Alabama on Jan. 16, promptly turned the ball over on his first possession before settling down.
Arkansas had an 8-0 run in the final two minutes of the half to briefly take the lead before Tilmon quickly got it back on a layup. Missouri went into halftime up 34-32.
Missouri was able to stay within striking distance for most of the second half, as the Tigers never let the Hogs’ lead get past six points until late in the game. The Tigers were never able to get a stop when they needed to tie the game and continued to hand over points off turnovers, finishing with 24, which led to 27 Arkansas points. The turnovers were the most since Mizzou’s loss at Iowa State on Nov. 9, when the Tigers finished with 25.
“The thing is get over the top and attack the rim,” MU coach Cuonzo Martin said of breaking UA’s press. “We didn’t do a good job of meeting the pass. When they got steals we didn’t meet the pass.”
Tilmon, who had a very clean game against Texas A&M on Saturday, had his foul issues creep back on him, after he picked up his fourth with 7:18 left in the game. A 5-0 run by Missouri cut the score to 53-52 after Pinson made an athletic layup through a pair of defenders. Pinson played a combined 15 minutes in MU’s last three games but had eight points in 21 minutes. Martin called the freshman’s performance “solid,” but wants to see his ball security and defense improve.
The Tigers lost Tilmon for good when he fouled out with 3:32 left after being called for a moving screen. He finished with nine points and five rebounds in 27 minutes. Backup center Reed Nikko also struggled with foul trouble against Arkansas, piling up four in just four minutes.
Smith hit his sixth three of the night with five minutes left to keep the deficit at one point, as Arkansas continued to hold a slight lead going into the game’s final minutes.
Joe’s three with three minutes remaining proved to be the dagger for MU. It capped a 10-0 Arkansas run to lift the Hogs’ lead to double-digits and ultimately seal the game. Joe led Arkansas with a game-high 23 points. Smith left late in the game with what Martin thinks is a sprained left ankle. Freshman Javon Pickett only played 10 minutes, after injuring his back in the first half.
Missouri’s next game is at home on Saturday against a red-hot LSU team. Coach Will Wade’s Tigers have won eight straight games. Tipoff is slated for 5 p.m. on the SEC Network. Both Smith and Pickett’s status for the game is unknown.
This story was originally published January 23, 2019 at 10:14 PM.