Five numbers that stood out from Mizzou basketball’s upset loss to Arkansas Razorbacks
Coming off an electric 12-point win over No. 4 Alabama, the Missouri Tigers’ next challenge was against an Arkansas team with everything to prove as the regular season winds down.
At 5-9 in conference (16-11 overall), head coach John Calipari’s Razorbacks are doing everything they can to make it back to the NCAA Tournament. Going into Saturday, they knew a win over No. 15 Mizzou would provide a great resume boost.
And that’s exactly what happened. Final score: Razorbacks 92, Tigers 85.
Arkansas got the last word in the regular-season Battle Line Rivalry this year, but for a variety of factors, it seemed like the Tigers beat themselves.
Here are five numbers that stood out from Saturday’s 92-85 Mizzou loss…
1. Turnovers, turnovers, turnovers. They made such a difference in a game decided by seven points. The Tigers, averaging 10.5 turnovers per game going into Saturday, committed 18 that the Razorbacks turned into 30 points. They committed five in less than five minutes of play, setting the scene for a long night in Fayetteville.
2. Arkansas was efficient in drawing fouls. Yet another key to this game: Arkansas drew 26 fouls, going 28-for-37 in trips to the line. The Tigers were only able to draw 18 fouls. They went 13-for-17 from the line:
“I cannot control the whistle at all,” coach Dennis Gates said. “That’s not my job. But I do know Mark Mitchell is very, very good at drawing fouls, and there were a couple that Mark wasn’t able to draw. And it’s just that simple. They did a great job. Arkansas did a great job.”
3. Missouri also struggled in the paint. Mizzou had averaged 41.3 points in the paint during its most recent three-game win streak (40 vs. Alabama and Oklahoma, 44 vs. Georgia), while limiting those opponents to 34.6 points inside. The Razorbacks, taking advantage of the absence of Josh Gray, found an answer with 44 points in the paint. Defensively, Arkansas limited the Tigers’ ability to create lanes to the rim. MU went 8-for-16 on layups.
Without the ability to score inside, as well as limited trips to the free-throw line, the Tigers had one more piece they could rely on. But...
4. Shots weren’t falling from 3, particularly from MU’s 3-point specialist. The Tigers took a season-high 36 shots from 3-point range, making 12. A 33.3% shooting rate from deep isn’t terribly off of what MU averages (36.9%), but the 3-point struggles particularly affected Caleb Grill.
Grill, who is shooting 43.3% from 3, previously had a stretch as one of the hottest shooters in college basketball. Teams have since figured that out and changed their approach, but that didn’t seem to be the issue. Grill’s shots just weren’t falling. He went 2-for-12 from deep and didn’t make a single shot in the second half.
5. Where MU did succeed, however, was the glass. The Tigers won the rebounding battle 35-28. They were especially dominant on the offensive glass, tallying 17 second-chance points as they collected 17 offensive boards. Arkansas, on the other hand, had eight offensive rebounds, nine second-chance points.
