Mizzou can’t keep pace with Arkansas in road SEC loss. Here’s what happened
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- Arkansas maintained control with superior 3-point shooting and extra possessions.
- Mizzou shot efficiently but lost the turnover and offensive-rebound battle.
- Arkansas’ late 23-9 first-half surge kept Mizzou from closing the gap.
Was there a possibility No. 20 Arkansas would have been gassed after playing in Wednesday’s “game of the year” against Alabama, a double-overtime 117-115 shootout that resulted in a heartbreaking loss?
It could have been expected. But after scoring 115 points and still losing, John Calipari’s Razorbacks wouldn’t have accepted anything less than a win their next time out. Mizzou just happened to be on the other side of that.
The Tigers, particularly Mark Mitchell, put in a strong effort but fell short in Fayetteville, Arkansas, in a 94-86 loss.
On paper, Mizzou (18-9, 8-6 SEC) was offensively sound. It shot 55.4% from the field and found more success at the free-throw line than in previous games, making 17 of 23 attempts (73.9%). Mitchell scored 26 points with eight assists. Trent Pierce added 22 points. Four Tigers scored in double figures.
But this was just a case of Arkansas being better. The Razorbacks shot slightly worse than Mizzou, 52.5%, but shot 44.4% from 3-point range compared to Mizzou’s 33.3%.
The Razorbacks (20-7, 10-4) also recorded five fewer turnovers and four more offensive rebounds than Mizzou. With those extra possessions, they took more shots than Mizzou (61-56) and more free throws (25-23).
“Credit to Arkansas,” head coach Dennis Gates said. “They did a great job. Tough environment to play in.”
Arkansas made it even more difficult.
The Razorbacks scored 15 second-chance points, including nine in the second half. Gates highlighted that area postgame.
“It’s tough to defend if you’re giving guys two shots per possession,” Gates said.
But the Tigers actually hung around with Arkansas’ top-10 offense, which entered averaging 89.8 points per game. They led on the road by eight at one point early on.
But Arkansas used an extended 23-9 run to take control at the end of the first half. And the Razorbacks, which entered Saturday with a top-5 average point differential in the SEC at plus-11.7, kept Mizzou at bay from there.
“I thought the end of that first half, a couple of fast-break points, couple of made 3s, got the best of us,” Gates said.
Mizzou did cut the Razorbacks’ lead to one possession in the second half, but for as stellar as Mitchell was, he committed a turnover that turned into a bucket for a four-point Arkansas lead.
The Razorbacks then scored again and led by at least five points the rest of the game.
“We still came back in that second half,” Gates said. “Turnovers kicked our behinds.”
Arkansas climbed to a double-digit advantage, leading by as many as 14 points with two minutes left.
Billy Richmond led Arkansas’ efforts with 21 points, and Darius Acuff Jr. followed with 20, fresh off his 49-point performance against Alabama. Richmond is averaging 10 points a game for the Razorbacks but has scored at least 20 in their last three games.
This loss hurts Mizzou’s tournament chances
Mizzou remains in a tough situation regarding the NCAA Tournament.
In ESPN’s bubble watch released Saturday morning, Neil Paine placed the Tigers in the “work to do” category. He noted that the Tigers are 11th among SEC teams in résumé average (50th nationally), though Wednesday’s win over Vanderbilt added a Quad 1 victory.
Joe Lunardi’s recent Bracketology, meanwhile, projects 11 SEC teams getting bids, which would be good for the Tigers. Lunardi has Mizzou in his “last four in,” playing one of the First Four games for an 11-seed in the East region.
Here’s Mizzou’s slate for the remainder of the regular season:
Feb. 24: vs. Tennessee
Feb. 28: at Mississippi State
March 3: at Oklahoma
March 7: vs. Arkansas
This story was originally published February 21, 2026 at 6:04 PM.
