Mizzou Tigers men’s basketball suffers yet another loss, falls seven games below .500
The pair of brothers who once represented hope of a revived era of Missouri men’s basketball under Cuonzo Martin — Michael Porter Jr. and Jontay Porter — sat courtside as the Tigers’ 2021-22 season reached a new low.
Missouri fell to seven games below .500 with a 58-56 loss to Mississippi State on Sunday night at Mizzou Arena. The program has never been this far away from a winning record in Martin’s five years as head coach.
“You just keep practicing, keep preparing,” Martin said. “I mean, as a competitor, you’re upset about losing. ... In your spirit you want to win the basketball game. And you come up short, you find ways to win games — simple as that.”
The Tigers (10-17, 4-10 SEC) have lost eight of their last 10 games, including three in a row. The latest on Sunday night was winnable too; they led by two points with less than two minutes left and had a chance for a game-winning shot on the final possession.
“You gotta get over the hump,” Martin said. “You just gotta make plays. And it’s just tough. Like I say to our guys, don’t get consumed with whatever your record is or whatever you hear on the peripheral.
“... I don’t want them to ever feel like they’re pressing, like I gotta — whatever the result is, that’s what it is. You still have a long life to live, don’t get consumed with that.”
Missouri jumped out to an early 9-2 advantage three minutes into the game, but that momentum quickly vanished. It didn’t come as too much of a surprise though as the Tigers have repeatedly given up leads throughout the season.
The latter part of the half also had an eerily similar feel to previous games, more specifically the one these two teams played less than 48 hours ago — which Mizzou lost 68-49 in Starkville. Though their offense looked much better than that outing for much of the period, the Tigers were held without a field goal for the last four minutes, allowing Mississippi State to go on a 9-2 run that included a steal and slam dunk from forward Anderson Garcia. The Tigers trailed 31-23 at halftime.
Mizzou went on a 11-0 run in the second half to regain the lead, 44-39, but once again let off the gas.
With less than two minutes left, the Tigers were up 56-54. They let Mississippi State guard Iverson Molinar easily drive to the basket to tie the game and then Jarron “Boogie” Coleman missed a three-pointer on the ensuing possession.
“Down the stretch each play matters,” Coleman said. “Knowing we get good looks and they don’t fall, then get a couple of tough plays and calls on the other end, it’s tough on us.”
Missouri gave up an and-one bucket to guard Shakeel Moore with 10.5 seconds left. He missed the shot at the free-throw line though, giving the Tigers a chance to win it with the final possession of the game.
Martin had a final timeout, but elected not to use it.
Coleman grabbed the rebound, took the ball up the court and found Javon Pickett on the wing. The senior guard hesitated, dribbled to the corner and tried to shot-fake his defender before letting off a three-pointer, which didn’t fall.
“I thought he had an opportunity (to drive), but that’s easy to say from the sideline,” Martin said.
“I seen the defender closing out with his hands up, so I thought I was gonna be able to attack him,” Pickett explained. “And then, I seen somebody else like under the basket — No. 13 (D.J. Jeffries) — and the big man was still with me. So I don’t know, man. I should have shot the first one or something, I don’t know.”
Whether in tight affairs or embarrassing blowouts, losses have become far too familiar for the Tigers this season.
“We just gotta stay together,” Pickett said. “... Keep doing what we’re doing and just gotta finish out games. We’re going into every game feeling confident. We just gotta keep going.”
Here are some key takeaways from the game.
Effort from Javon Pickett and Kobe Brown isn’t enough
Entering the game, Missouri was 7-0 when both Javon Pickett and Kobe Brown scored in double figures.
That trend was reversed on Sunday night.
Though he missed the all-important final shot and went 0 of 6 from beyond the arc, Pickett led the Tigers with 16 points. He also added four rebounds and four assists.
Brown had 12 points, seven rebounds and two blocks.
Another subpar shooting game
The Tigers shot worse than 41% for the third consecutive game.
Missouri made 22 of 54 (40.7%) attempts from the field.
The team went 5 of 22 (22.7%) from three-point range as well. Mizzou had some wide open looks it missed, but player also often settled instead of driving to the basket.
“I don’t have a number of how many threes you shoot,” Martin said. “You shoot the ball (if) you’re open.”
Yaya Keita out for the season
Missouri played its fourth consecutive game with only eight players available.
Center Jordan Wilmore (back), guard Anton Brookshire (wrist) and forward Yaya Keita (knee) were all out.
Though the timetable on Wilmore and Brookshire’s injuries remain up in the air, the program announced prior to Sunday’s contest that Keita had left knee surgery Friday and isn’t expected to step on the court again this season.
“We’re here for him if he need anything,” Pickett said. “Yaya, like great spirit, great person to be around. You love his energy, his toughness, the grit that he brings to the team.”
This story was originally published February 20, 2022 at 9:20 PM.
