Mizzou bested on the road at Arkansas
Sometimes, you have to credit the other team. Arkansas simply played a better game than Mizzou.
In other Tiger loses this season, Mizzou coach Dennis Gates has found “Self inflictions” that lost the Tigers the game.
But those same issues didn’t show up in the same way in Mizzou’s 94-86 loss at Arkansas on Saturday.
“We scored 86 points on the road,” Gates said. “That is a hard and difficult thing to do. We just gotta get the necessary stops and stop the runs that they made.”
Against Ole Miss, the Tigers could blame a poor day from the free-throw line. Against LSU, second-chance points allowed lost Mizzou the matchup. Against Georgia, it was poor positioning on the final play.
But against the Razorbacks on Saturday, the Tigers were simply bested.
“Our guys executed some things, but this is one of the most talented teams pound-for-pound,” Gates said. “They play seven guys, probably six of those guys will be in the NBA.”
Starting hot
Both teams opened the game scoring at will.
The teams went back and forth to start the game, tying at 2 and 4 before Trent Pierce powered Mizzou to a five-point run to create a 9-4 edge.
Arkansas responded with a run of its own to tie at nine, then the teams tied at 11 and traded the lead six times across the next five minutes.
But the Tigers used an 11-2 run to create their biggest lead of the day at 30-22 with 6:53 left.
Struggling into the break
But as they have multiple times this season, the Tigers struggled to end the half.
Mizzou led by eight once again at 32-24 with 6:07 left to play, but Arkansas outscored the Tigers 23-9 in the final six minutes to take a 47-41 lead into halftime.
“There were some margins we didn’t win and plays we didn’t execute,” Gates said.
The rest of the way
The Tigers quickly cut the lead to three to open the second half, but Arkansas would never give up the advantage fully after halftime.
Mizzou stayed close, even getting within a point at 57-56 with 14:59 left after a Mark Mitchell free throw, helping build his 26-point day, but Arkansas answered with a 3 as Billy Richmond scored 10 straight Arkansas points to put the Razorbacks up 67-60 with 11:07 left.
“Billy Richmond did a great job tonight,” Gates said. “Executing, being able to shoot a high percentage. … He made some timely 3-point shots that hurt us and I credit him for his play.”
Mizzou stayed within 10 most of the way, but a 3 with 5:11 left put Arkansas up by double digits for the first time, then the Razorbacks kept building, getting as far as a 14-point lead after a fast break dunk with 2:02 left to play.
Foul trouble
Mizzou struggled with foul trouble throughout the second half, ending with four players at four fouls, three of which reached the mark with more than 7 minutes left on the clock.
“It hurt our aggression,” Gates said. “They were leading to and-one baskets. … I thought we defended well, but when you just get your hand caught in the cookie jar, they’re going to make the call.”
Stats
Mizzou shot 31-of-56 (55.4 percent) from the field, 7-of-21 (33.3 percent) from 3 and 17-of-23 (73.9 percent) from 3.
Arkansas shot 32-of-61 (52.5 percent) overall, 8-of-18 (44.4 percent) from 3 and 22-of-25 (88.0 percent) from the stripe.
Arkansas won the rebounding battle 31-26 and held an 11-7 lead in offensive boards. That led to a 15-8 lead in second-chance points.
Arkansas forced 10 Mizzou turnovers and turned those into 18 points, while Mizzou turned five Arkansas turnovers into six points.
The teams tied at 48 in points in the paint, but led 17-2 in fast break points.
Mark Mitchell led Mizzou with 26 points to go with a game-high eight assists, while also bringing down four rebounds.
Pierce added 22 points and four rebounds, while Shawn Phillips had 11 points and four boards. Jayden Stone added 10 points, two boards and two assists.
Up next
Mizzou (18-9, 8-6 SEC) will return home to host Tennessee at 8 p.m. Tuesday.