Brutal 2nd-half fade costs Missouri Tigers in home basketball showdown against Memphis

It was all too good to be true.

The Missouri Tigers sold out Mizzou Arena and Memorial Stadium on the same weekend for the first time in school history this week. Class of 2024 five-star center Jayden Quaintance has narrowed his list of potential college destinations to two: Mizzou and Kentucky.

And on Friday night at Mizzou Arena, the MU men’s basketball team built a 14-point lead in its first test of the season. But then the going got tough ... and then it got out of hand.

The big-week magic disappeared, at least for one night, as Memphis stormed back in the second half to down the ice-cold host Tigers 70-55.

Here are three takeaways from Missouri’s loss, which evened its early-season record at 1-1:

Tigers go ice-cold

It looked good on Monday. It looked good for 15 minutes against Memphis.

And then, all of a sudden, Missouri’s offense vanished.

The Tigers couldn’t buy a bucket, forfeiting a lead that had stretched to 14 points late in the first half. Memphis went up 38-36 and forced MU into a timeout less than three minutes into the second period.

The home Tigers went on a four-and-a-half-minute scoring drought to start the second half, missing eight of their first nine attempts from the field. Starters Caleb Grill and Jesus Carralero Martin were a combined 2 of 16 overall on Friday.

Memphis, meanwhile, went on run after run. MU managed just 19 points total in the second half, making a scant five field goals over the final 20 minutes.

By day’s end, Missouri was 6 of 28 from deep and 18 of 56 from the field. Worse, the Tigers grabbed just five offensive rebounds.

Experienced players disappear

Anthony Robinson II, Missouri’s true freshman point guard with a billing as big as any moment, stepped to the free-throw line, Missouri down 10 and flailing.

Robinson had three chances. Bang. Bang. Bang ... He made them all.

The sold-out crowd jumped to its feet and let out a roar. Memphis missed a layup. Freshman Trent Pierce recovered the ball and dished out to Sean East II, who drove forward and drew a foul.

East missed both of his free-throw attempts. The Tigers held Memphis without a bucket again and drew another foul. This time, senior forward Noah Carter missed the free attempt.

And that was the problem after halftime: When the moment got big, Mizzou kept missing.

East and Carter had run the show in the first half, combining for 22 of Missouri’s 36 points by intermission. But they combined for just two points in the second half.

On several occasions last season, Missouri relied on sharpshooters D’Moi Hodge and DeAndre Gholston to knock down tide-turning buckets. Kobe Brown was an expert at the craft.

But nobody stepped up in their absence Friday evening when the going got tough.

Memphis recovers from slow start

The visitors, without head coach Penny Hardaway, who is serving a three-game suspension for recruiting violations, came to Columbia with cold hands.

Memphis missed its first four attempts from the free-throw line and made just two of its opening nine tries from 3-point range. That helped Missouri build a 14-point lead late in the first quarter.

Unlike Missouri, Memphis emerged from its shooting slump.

The visitors shot 16 of 31 from the field in the second half, consistently finding success in the paint. Alabama transfer Jahvon Quinerly finished with 18 points to lead Memphis. Forward David Jones had 13 points.

The Star has partnered with the Columbia Daily Tribune for coverage of Missouri Tigers athletics.

This story was originally published November 10, 2023 at 10:18 PM.