Mizzou bounced from SEC Tournament by Arkansas as two Tigers foul out in second half
If Missouri is going to make a run in the NCAA Tournament, the bigs are going to have to stay in the game.
That wasn’t the case on Friday in the quarterfinal round of the SEC men’s basketball tournament, as eighth-ranked Arkansas defeated Mizzou 70-64 at Brigestone Arena in Nashville, Tennessee.
Jeremiah Tilmon and Mitchell Smith fouled out in the second half. Several of the fouls were on the offensive end, including Tilmon’s fifth with 6:22 remaining.
Smith fouled out with 12:09 to play.
The teams had split the regular season meetings with each winning on the other’s home floor. Tilmon went for 25 points and 11 rebounds in Fayetteville. But Arkansas switched to a smaller lineup early in the game Friday, and Mizzou didn’t respond. Tilmon, a second-team All-SEC selection, finished with nine points and no rebounds.
Still, the game was tied 49-49 with 9:09 remaining. The Razorbacks went on an 11-1 run to create separation. The Tigers closed to three late but couldn’t finish the task.
Parker Braun gave Missouri a late spark with a pair of free throws and three-pointer that trimmed the deficit to 63-58 with 2:18 remaining. Kobe Brown added a pair of free throws to make it a 7-0 run with 1:48 to play. But J.D Notae made an off-balanced bucket in the paint to stop the run and the Tigers didn’t get a possession to at least tie the game.
Notae was terrific for Arkansas, finishing with 27 points.
It’s now about Selection Sunday for Missouri (16-9).
The Tigers entered the game with solid credentials for NCAA Tournament seeding. Their NCAA Evaluation Tool (NET) ranking was No. 43. But Mizzou has victories over three teams ranked in the top 10 — including likely No. 1 seed Illinois — and is one of 10 teams with at least seven NET Quad 1 victories.
Even Missouri’s victories over unranked teams look good. The Tigers have defeated Oral Roberts and Liberty, champions of the Summit and Atlantic Sun tournaments, and own triumphs over Oregon and American Athletic Conference regular season champion Wichita State, which were alive in their conference tournaments as of Friday evening.
Missouri absorbed a 16-0 Arkansas run in the first half fueled by Notae, and led the Razorbacks 33-32 at the break.
This story was originally published March 12, 2021 at 8:12 PM.