Shorthanded Mizzou basketball team blown out at South Carolina
Another cold shooting performance by the Missouri Tigers led to a 76-54 loss to the South Carolina Gamecocks on Saturday.
The Tigers (10-11, 2-6 SEC) missed their first seven field goals at Colonial Life Arena. Their defense kept them in the game against the Gamecocks (13-8, 5-3), but not for long. South Carolina opened a double-digit lead in the first half and led the rest of the way.
In past games, even when the shots weren’t falling, Mizzou did an impressive job getting to the free-throw line. That’s what the Tigers did against Georgia when they came back from a 20-point deficit and won.
It was a formula to win Saturday as the Gamecocks are one of the most foul prone teams in the country. According to KenPom.com, South Carolina ranked 352nd of 353 teams in defensive free-throw rate entering Saturday.
But the Tigers didn’t capitalize. They shot just three free throws in the first half, finishing 12 for 15. South Carolina meanwhile shot 18 for 32 from the free-throw line.
“Not a lot of focus in the first half,” Mizzou coach Cuonzo Martin said. “Just settle down. Recognize your spacing. All of that, but you still have to make shots when you’re open.”
The Tigers missed a pair of starters and two of their three leading scorers: Mark Smith and Jeremiah Tilmon. Both were game-time decisions but unable to play on Saturday.
Smith was kept out after a lower back injury forced him to miss the entire second half of the Georgia win on Tuesday. Tilmon is still nursing a stress fracture in his left foot, which has now kept him out of the past eight games.
Mizzou guard Xavier Pinson scored 12 points, but finished with foul fouls, thinning a short rotation. The Tigers shot just 32.8 percent (19 for 58) as the offense disappeared.
South Carolina forward Maik Kotsar dominated the Tigers, scoring 21 points.
Mizzou nexts plays Texas A&M at 8 p.m. Tuesday at College Station, Texas.
“I felt like we had everything we needed to win this game,” Martin said. “Just didn’t make shots, didn’t make plays.”
This story was originally published February 1, 2020 at 4:32 PM.