How Mizzou basketball’s lost aggression led to Auburn loss as fouls, blocks piled up
Missouri men’s basketball prides itself on its defense. That’s typical for a Cuonzo Martin-coached team, and why the Tigers hadn’t allowed more than 80 points all season.
But that defensive effort came tumbling down Tuesday night for the No. 12-ranked Tigers. Missouri allowed Auburn to get to the free throw line 44 times, seeing its three-game win streak snapped in an 88-82 loss at Auburn Arena.
It was a whistle fest on both sides as the teams combined for 52 fouls. Auburn freshman star Sharife Cooper lived at the free throw line, making 18 for 21 on his way to a 28-point performance.
Mizzou (10-3, 4-3 SEC) had little answer for Cooper and Auburn coach Bruce Pearl’s Tigers. The defense stagnated as three of MU’s five starters fouled out.
But Martin didn’t use the fouls as any excuse, saying his team needed to take “ownership” instead. He added his Tigers became too passive when the fouls piled up, allowing Cooper to flash his playmaking on his way to eight rebounds and seven assists.
“That’s kind of who we are: We want to be intense on the defensive end,” Mizzou guard Dru Smith said. “Kind of up in you. We have to adjust to how the game is being called. We have to do better, especially there in the second half. Keeping our hands out. Just making straight up plays at the rim.”
That lack of aggressiveness on defense manifested itself elsewhere. Auburn (10-7, 4-5) punished the opposition when it ventured close to the rim. Auburn finished with 14 blocks.
Mizzou converted on just 12 of 31 layups. It showed Martin’s Tigers were willing to get near the rim, but finishing was another story. Smith said instead of going at the basket, they jumped away from contact — exactly what Auburn wanted. And instead of easy buckets, MU came up empty.
“The ones I watched from the sideline, we didn’t go up strong,” Martin said. “We didn’t go up finishing the ball. We didn’t make contact and keep our heads up, finishing.”
Mizzou was led by Smith and forward Jeremiah Tilmon, who scored 21 points each. Smith had an efficient start, though some late missed shots were costly. Tilmon added 10 rebounds and six blocks, picking up another double-double.
Efficiency was another issue.
The Tigers’ cold three-point shooting returned as they made just 24% (6 for 25) from behind the arc. While they’ve been stellar from the free throw line, an 18 for 27 performance kept them even further away from Auburn. Tilmon finished just 3 for 11 on free throws, a setback after he had recovered from a slow start to the season.
“What felt kind of weird was that it was stopping a lot,” Smith said of the pace. “There wasn’t really a flow going back and forth. We still have to be able to make adjustments.”
If there was a positive, Smith said, it was in the middle parts of the game. A brutal start had Mizzou facing a 14-point deficit, which it flipped to a seven-point advantage spanning halves. MU started to go to Tilmon inside the paint more, and while Auburn still picked up blocked shots, the reward ended up being either fouls or buckets.
But Mizzou did most of its damage when Cooper was off the floor after he picked up his third foul in the first half. Cooper was plus-20 in his 28 minutes on the court. Ultimately, Missouri had little answer for the rookie playing his sixth collegiate game.
“The key is to try to keep him in front of you,” Martin said of Cooper. “Easier said than done because he’s shifty, he’s fast. You got multiple screens coming at you. I don’t think he beat Dru Smith so much one-on-one. What he’s able to do with those ball screens, he’s got the bigs on their heels attacking downhill.”
After playing the past five of six games on the road, the Tigers will return to Mizzou Arena. They host TCU at 1 p.m. Saturday as part of the Big 12/SEC challenge.
“It was tough,” Smith said. “They were doing a good job of drawing fouls, especially there in the second half. We were trying to give different looks on that high ball screen up top. That was about it. We gotta do a better job of keeping them off the free throw line.”