Mizzou stunned by Charleston Southern 68-60 in one of worst losses of Martin’s tenure
The Missouri Tigers looked off-balance all night as Charleston Southern stunned them 68-60 in Mizzou’s third straight loss.
Every time Mizzou built a lead, Charleston Southern had an answer. The Buccaneers also hit three straight three-pointers late, pulling away. Overall, the visitors shot 45.5% (10-22) from deep.
It’s arguably one of the worst losses of Mizzou coach Cuonzo Martin’s tenure. Coming in, Charleston Southern was ranked No. 314 in the nation according to KenPom. The Tigers fell to 4-4.
“I’ve been doing this a long time, probably one of the toughest losses,” Martin said. “It didn’t feel right. We just didn’t have the right flow or the right momentum. It was just like we were chugging along and we didn’t do enough to win the game.”
It was an uncomfortable Tuesday night for the Tigers at Mizzou Arena. And in what’s becoming commonplace, they also started off slow again.
They couldn’t hit a shot to start the game. Mizzou started 1 for 13 from the field, including 0 for 9 from three. The Buccaneers hit tough shots on their way to an early 12-3 lead.
Mizzou clawed back after another poor opening eight minutes. They used an 11-0 run to take a 28-23 halftime lead.
But Charleston Southern stuck around. The Buccaneers traded the lead with the Tigers for stretches of the second half.
Forward Jeremiah Tilmon scored 15 points, all in the second half. Forward Mitchell Smith also tied a career-high with 10 points.
Charleston Southern was led by Duncan LeXander with 17 points while Travis Anderson scored 15. Four Buccaneers finished in double digits.
Mizzou is back in action at 6:30 p.m. Saturday at Temple in another true nonconference road game. It’ll be the Tigers’ second road game of the season after an overtime loss at Xavier.
“We were just a step slow,” Martin said. “We just couldn’t get over the hump.”
This story was originally published December 3, 2019 at 9:08 PM.