Takeaways from No. 20 Missouri Tigers’ 74-68 loss to No. 13 Arkansas Razorbacks
Maybe Missouri’s second game as a ranked team will have better result.
Arkansas pressed the accelerator in the second half to pull past the Tigers 74-68 on Wednesday. When the Tigers attempted a final push, the Razorbacks made enough plays down the stretch to maintain the lead.
Still, it wasn’t easy for the hosts. Missouri cut an eight-point deficit to 69-66 with 27 seconds remaining, but Arkansas responded with a pair of free throws. The Tigers didn’t have the ball in the final minute with a chance to lead or tie.
Missouri used its defense to control the game in the early stages, leading by as many as 17. But No. 13 Arkansas cut the deficit to seven by halftime, then shot 72% from the floor in the first 13 minutes of the second half to change the game.
The Tigers lost their bid to beat three straight ranked teams for the first time. Missouri had defeated Illinois and Kentucky and entered the Associated Press poll this week for the first time in two years.
Coach Dennis Gates’ Mizzou team fell to 12-2, 1-1 in the SEC.
Here are some takeaways from the battle of ranked teams:
Boards and a freshman
Board play helped Arkansas get back in the game. The Razorbacks outrebounded the Tigers 40-23, and 15 offensive rebounds produced 17 second-chance points.
The game also had an unexpected hero for the home team. Freshman guard Joseph Pinion entered the game having scored 21 points all season. He finished with 13 and led the way for Arkansas by finding his range from beyond the arc.
The Razorbacks took their first lead at 43-42 on Davonte Davis’ reverse layup, and the roof nearly came off Bud Walton Arena when Pinion buried a corner three. Pinion finished with three of Arkansas’ triples.
“Once they took that lead we were playing uphill,” Gates said.
Tigers out of the gate
A common thread for Missouri over the past three games has been a fast start. Home, neutral floor, road, the site or ranked opponent hasn’t mattered.
Missouri has opened those games in an ambush. The Tigers jumped ahead of Illinois 25-12, Kentucky 15-5 and the Razorbacks 25-8.
On Wednesday, Missouri used its defense to set the tone. The Tigers’ lead was 14-8 when a combination of zone defense in the half court and full-court pressure helped force four straight turnovers and fueled an 11-0 Mizzou run.
Arkansas, not a good perimeter-shooting team (30% coming in), moved the ball around the three-point line looking for the most open look. The Razorbacks missed their first five from deep and went two of 12 on three-pointers in the first half.
They managed to slice a 17-point deficit to 34-27 at halftime by turning up their own defense and hitting the boards. Nearly half of the Razorbacks’ first-half points (13) came on second chances.
Brown has a grand
Missouri forward Kobe Brown, coming off successive games in which he scored at least 30 points, collected his second foul less than four minutes into the game and went to the bench. But by then he had collected his 1,000th-career point.
Brown entered the game needed one point for the milestone and got it at the free-throw line two minutes into the game. Gates showed enough confidence in his team to sit Brown for 14 first-half minutes.
The Razorbacks did a solid job defending Brown, who finished with 11 points.
Missouri was held under 80 points for just the third time this season.
Another sellout
Missouri announced on Wednesday that its game on Saturday against Vanderbilt at Mizzou Arena is a sellout.
That will be the third straight full house in Columbia for the Tigers following the Kentucky and Kansas games. The Vandy game tips off at 11 a.m.
This story was originally published January 4, 2023 at 10:26 PM.