Mizzou basketball dug itself an early hole against LSU. It never recovered
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- Mizzou began 0-for-7, ceded a 10-0 run and trailed for 39:19 without ever leading.
- Offense improved to 54.5% shooting in the second half, but defense allowed easy points
- Jayden Stone led with 20 points; Tigers hit 24 of 30 free throws to stay close.
The Missouri Tigers made it interesting toward the end in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, but their comeback effort ultimately fell short.
Mizzou basketball suffered its second conference loss Saturday afternoon, falling 78-70 to LSU. The MU Tigers, who trailed by as many as 14 in the second half, cut the deficit to three at multiple points. The game was as close as four points inside the final minute at the Pete Maravich Assembly Center.
But the MU Tigers (13-5, 3-2 SEC) couldn’t fully dig out of the hole they found themselves in to start the game. LSU began the game on a 10-0 spurt, with Mizzou starting 0-for-7 and missing four 3s in the first 5:04.
At halftime, Missouri was shooting 33.3% from the field, 22.2% from 3, and trailed by 10 points, 37-27. The Tigers trailed for 39:19 of game time and never led.
“I just thought we were a little bit in the mud,” head coach Dennis Gates said postgame.
Mizzou’s offense straightened out in the second half, but it seemed to be at the expense of its defense. Mizzou outscored LSU 43-41 and saw a significant uptick in offensive efficiency, shooting 54.5%. But the LSU Tigers scored easier, too.
Even without top scorer Dedan Thomas Jr., who is averaging 16.2 points and 7.1 assists but has missed all five of LSU’s conference games with a leg injury, the home side had enough answers.
“I think the last 30 minutes of the game is sort of where we got our rhythm,” Gates said. “Not those first 5 to 10. ... We didn’t close out possessions. We got stops, but we didn’t close out possessions, and that’s where it got us.”
LSU (13-5, 1-4 SEC) was led by Marquel Sutton and Max Mackinnon on Saturday. Sutton scored 26 points after tying to lead LSU with 16 points Wednesday against Kentucky. Mackinnon followed with 20 points and is averaging 19.6 points per game in SEC play.
Mizzou was led by Jayden Stone, who scored 20 points on 7-of-14 shooting. Mark Mitchell followed with 13 points, going 7-for-10 from the free-throw line.
The MU Tigers stayed competitive thanks to free-throw shooting. The Tigers, who rank last in the SEC at 66.4% in that area (Tennessee is second-to-last at 69.2%), got to the line 30 times Saturday.
And they made 24 of those attempts for 80%.
But another area where MU fell short was limiting LSU’s second-chance points. LSU totaled 16 offensive rebounds, adding up to 21 extra points.
In its three SEC wins, Mizzou allowed an average of 12 second-chance points off 12 offensive rebounds. The LSU Tigers eclipsed both totals.
“It’s demoralizing,” Gates said. “We left it all out on the board. Even that last possession, they found a way to get that offensive rebound, and we’ve got to grab them with two hands. I think, ultimately, being able to cut out, block out, that’s what we did so well in our previous outings, and tonight we didn’t.”
Next up, the MU Tigers host a ranked contest at Mizzou Arena on Jan. 20, with No. 21 Georgia coming to Columbia. Tipoff is set for 8 p.m. Tuesday.
This story was originally published January 17, 2026 at 5:21 PM.
