The Missouri Men’s Basketball team hosted the Texas Longhorns at Mizzou arena for a Valentines Day showdown between two tournament hopefuls.
Both teams came into the matchup on a three game winning streak, with dreams of a spot in March Madness firmly in play. The stakes were high for both squads, as losses in February can have a big impact on the minds of the voting committee as decisions are made for the tournament.
The Tigers returned to Columbia after wins on the road against South Carolina and Texas A&M with an eager sold out Mizzou Arena crowd to await them. On the opposite end, the Longhorns came into Columbia for the first time since 2012, and were searching for their first win in Columbia since 2006.
After winning the tipoff, Texas bigman Matas Vokietaitis scored the opening bucket for the Longhorns. The Tigers responded quickly, getting out to an early lead, though starting center and hero from the Texas A&M game, Shawn Phillips Jr. got into early foul trouble. Picking up a flagrant foul after catching a longhorn defender with an elbow to the head early on, Phillips would quickly pick up his second foul in as many minutes shortly after.
Following the drama with Phillips’ flagrant, Jayden Stone shot out of a cannon to deliver a monster dunk on Vokietaitis, sending Mizzou Arena into a frenzy. The dunk gave the Tigers a four point lead, but it wouldn’t last for long as the Longhorns fought back. Both squads attacked each other in the paint and tried to dominate the other with their physicality. The refs let both squads play, but the main focus from the first half was Texas’ dominance on the offensive boards despite their shooting struggles. To end the first half the Longhorns took a 33-31 lead after Tramon Mark converted an and-1 bucket.
The second half started like the first ended, this time with Dailyn Swain getting the and-1 bucket for the Longhorns. Both teams kept their physicality and continued to fight tooth and nail for every possession, but the difference was in this half the refs were not letting things go. Both squads got into foul trouble early, but Texas was able to capitalize on their free throws more than Missouri.
Texas soon got out to a double digit lead after catching fire and putting up multiple solid defensive possessions. Swain came alive and finished the game with 25 points, leading all scorers, and giving the Longhorns some much needed shot-making in the second half. The Tigers seemed to dissipate on offense, failing to score a field goal for the final six minute stretch in the game. Even with 38 free throws in the game and drawing 14 fouls in the second half, the Tigers made just 68% of them.
On paper, Mizzou should have won the game by a solid margin, but one one looks deeper the Tigers stood no chance. Mizzou failed to secure rebounds in crucial possessions and let the Longhorns get 14 of their own offensively, leading to them also taking 16 more shots than the Tigers. Texas won their first game in Columbia in just over 20 years, coming out with a definitive 85-68 victory over Mizzou.
The loss is a big blow to the Tigers tournament hopes, but the season isn’t over yet. Mizzou will look to bounce back against No. 19 Vanderbilt at home on Wednesday, with every game for the Tigers now a must win as March grows near.