Missouri Tigers men’s basketball gets blown out on home floor against No. 23 Arkansas
.JPG "Arkansas’s Davonte Davis, left, dives for the ball in front of Missouri’s Trevon Brazile, right, during the first half of an NCAA college basketball game Tuesday, Feb. 15, 2022, in Columbia, Mo. (AP Photo/L.G. Patterson)")
Through the first two games of SEC play, Missouri men’s basketball looked completely lifeless. The Tigers lost by 27 points to Kentucky and then suffered a 44-point rout at Arkansas.
Wins haven’t come often for this year’s squad, but Mizzou had picked up a few victories and was mostly competitive in losses — the last five in league play had been by a margin of 4.6 points.
But it was back to sloppy play and a blowout defeat on Tuesday night, as Missouri suffered a 76-57 drubbing at the hands of No. 23 Arkansas at Mizzou Arena.
“We didn’t come out with an edge tonight, and I think that was the cause of this one,” Missouri head coach Cuonzo Martin said. “Because I think we’ve been playing good basketball, just didn’t have the edge we needed.”
The Tigers (10-15, 4-8 SEC) made 21 of 57 (37%) shots from the field, including 5 of 17 (29%) on three-point attempts. They only scored 0.864 points per possession, compared to the Razorbacks’ 1.226.
Much as it was the first time these teams played this season, Tuesday’s game got away from the Tigers early.
“It’s frustrating losing a game like this,” guard Jarron “Boogie” Coleman said. “But I mean, first half was our downfall.”
Missouri allowed Arkansas (20-6, 9-4) to go on a 15-0 run across four minutes in building a 19-4 lead less than 10 minutes into the contest. Cuonzo Martin’s Missouri team turned the ball over five times during that stretch, leading to easy points for the Razorbacks.
The turnovers were mostly unforced, such as when Javon Pickett lost control of the ball to relinquish a fast-break opportunity, turning what should have been an easy bucket for Mizzou into a three-pointer for Arkansas’ JD Notae.
“You just gotta be tough throughout the whole game, starting from the jump,” Pickett said. “We let them do whatever they want.”
As bad as it was, it wasn’t as much of a train wreck as the first meeting, a game in which Mizzou was already down 23 points midway through the first half.
Still, it was ugly. Missouri was buried in a 46-27 deficit by halftime.
The Tigers brought the contest to as close as 11 points after holding the Razorbacks without a field goal for around seven minutes in the second half, but they were never actually back in the game. Especially not once Arkansas hit two triples in a row — one from Notae and one from from Stanley Umude —to build its lead back.
“We allowed the ball to flow through the air, and they made plays, made shots,” Martin said. “We knew Stanley (Umude) could make shots, some other guys made some big shots, big threes. Just could never get over the hump.”
From start to finish, Mizzou was run off its home floor.
Here are some key takeaways from the game.
Mizzou comes up short against another ranked foe
Missouri hasn’t fared well against high-level opponents this season.
With Tuesday night’s loss, the Tigers are 1-5 when facing opponents ranked in The Associated Press Top 25. The sole win came against then-No. 15 Alabama on Jan. 8.
Mizzou kept things close against then-No. 1 Auburn, falling by just one point after a botched final defensive possession, but all of the other losses haven’t been that competitive.
The Tigers’ losses to Kansas (No. 8), Kentucky (No. 18), Iowa State (No. 23) and now Arkansas (No. 23) have come by an average margin of 25 points.
Turnovers remain an issue
Taking care of the ball has been a struggle for Mizzou all season. Entering Tuesday night’s game, the team was averaging 14.2 turnovers per contest.
Turnovers were once again an issue against Arkansas.
The Tigers committed 13 turnovers in the loss, which led to 17 points for the Razorbacks. And most of those mistakes were unforced errors.
“Certainly frustrating,” Martin said. “Especially the first two (turnovers) ... I mean, that can’t happen, not at the start of a game. That can’t happen because you give guys momentum, they’re able to make plays. Now you’re fighting to get back in it.”
Lackluster defense
Though Missouri had a solid stretch during its run in the second half, the defensive effort was in large part lacking on Tuesday night.
“They got whatever they wanted,” Pickett said of Arkansas. “They flowed into their offense. They made skip passes, they made regular passes — whatever passes they wanted they were able to get. And they knocked down their shots. Wherever they wanted the ball, they got it.”
The Tigers allowed the Razorbacks to have their way beyond the arc. Arkansas made 11 of 21 (52.4%) of its three-point attempts.
Mizzou also struggled to contain its opponent on the boards. Arkansas grabbed seven offensive rebounds, which it turned into 12 second-chance points.
The Tigers had a tough time stopping Umude, who scored 23 points. He made six three-pointers.
“We weren’t great defensively tonight, and give those guys credit,” Martin said. “They drove the ball, they were physical, they get offensive rebounds, they made shots. Like I said, we knew Stanley (Umude) could make shots and make plays. But some of the guys you can’t allow them to get off. We weren’t as sharp pressuring the basketball, even in our ball-screen assignments.”
This story was originally published February 15, 2022 at 10:23 PM.
