When the frisbee-catching dogs elicited a louder reaction from the student section at halftime than the Tigers did throughout most of the game, it’s clear that Mizzou didn’t play very well. The Tigers (10-15) lost to the Razorbacks (20-6) 76-57 Tuesday night.
The Tigers’ offense began unsteadily, with three unforced turnovers stalling its momentum early.
Mizzou head coach, Cuonzo Martin, lamented his team’s slow start.
“We didn’t come out with an edge tonight,” Martin said.
In contrast, the Razorbacks scored quickly, establishing a 15-point lead while holding Mizzou to just four points for the first seven and a half minutes.
Mizzou guard, Javon Pickett, offered Mizzou’s only offensive spark in the first half. Pickett racked up 13 points by exploiting the holes in Arkansas’ baseline defense and driving aggressively into the paint.
The rest of Mizzou’s offense struggled to find the lane as they settled for jump shots and 3-pointers that rarely fell in the basket.
While Mizzou’s offense appeared rushed, with risky passes and airballed-shots, Arkansas’s offense functioned patiently, with the Razorbacks exercising passing restraint in order to find the most open player to score. That player was often Stanely Umude, who led Arkansas with four 3-point shots in the first half.
Despite increasing defensive pressure and tightening its defensive rebounding, Mizzou was unable to slow Arkansas’s scoring, and Arkansas closed out the first half leading 46-27.
Pickett wasn’t pleased with his team’s defensive performance. “They (Arkansas) got whatever they wanted (on offense),” Pickett said.
Pickett was held scoreless in the second half. While Martin acknowledged that the Razorbacks started “running at” Pickett more in the second half, Martin believed there were still missed “opportunities for him to score and be aggressive at the rim.”
Arkansas’s offense stalled after the Kansas City Disc Dogs hit the court for their halftime show. Playing with increased aggression and tact, the Tigers’ defense pressured the Razorbacks into committing eight turnovers in the second half. Led by DaJuan Gordon and Ronnie DeGray III, Mizzou cut its deficit to 11 points with eight minutes left in the game.
Mizzou fans were back on their feet and making noise, and it seemed that the Tigers were finally threatening the Razorbacks’ lead. However, after a pair of successful Arkansas free throws and a Mizzou layup added some intrigue, two consecutive 3-point shots by Arkansas cemented the Razorbacks’ eventual victory.
After tying Arkansas with 30 points apiece in the second half, Mizzou hopes to reevaluate how to improve their first half performance, as they look toward their next challenge: facing Mississippi State on the road this Friday.
“The first half is our downfall,” admitted Mizzou forward Kobe Brown.
But he has a plan. “We’re just working on playing our best 40 minutes every game,” Brown said.