Mizzou basketball reminds of its vast improvement against Arkansas, even in defeat
FAYETTEVILLE Ark. — When Missouri men’s basketball showed up at Bud Walton Arena in 2022, the results were indicative of the beginning of an end. The Tigers got smoked, losing 87-43 en route to a season that included only 12 wins, five of them in the SEC.
Things were a little bit better, but not by much, in February, when the Razorbacks made the return trip to Mizzou Arena for a 76-57 victory. One month later, the program would have an entirely new coaching staff.
Fast forward to the 2022-23 campaign, and the Tigers once again lost to Arkansas. But all things considered, the 74-68 defeat was a sign of progress, as disappointing as it was for MU in the moment.
"I’m really just proud of our guys,” MU guard Nick Honor said after the game. “Competed well and at end of the day when you look at it, we’re doing a lot better than everybody expected and we’ve believed this since the beginning. It was a loss, but it was definitely a lesson.”
Most coaches will say moral victories don’t exist. Still, there was plenty of good to be found in Wednesday’s defeat.
MU got out to a lead early on, showing the ability to compete with a legitimate top-15 team in the Razorbacks. It was a third consecutive strong early showing after the Tigers also cruised in the first half against Illinois and Kentucky.
According to guard Sean East, who finished with a team-high13 points, that’s part of MU’s plan.
"We’re big on trying to make the first blow,” East said. “Hit the first punch. Not respond to their lick, so we just try to come out and execute the game plan the way the coach wants to.”
When all was said and done, Missouri couldn’t hold the lead. Despite being up 17 in the first half, the Razorbacks came clawing back, reversing their woeful first-half fortunes from the field and hitting enough shots to get it done.
The Tigers weren’t helped by their rebounding, getting beaten 40-23 on the boards. Even worse for MU, Arkansas got 17 offensive rebounds, many of which were turned into buckets, ultimately dooming the visitors’ efforts.
“Whenever we did get a stop, they ended up getting the rebound and ended up making a big, big play,” Missouri head coach Dennis Gates said. “Second-chance points in the second half hurt us and ultimately we were just stifled.”
Still, the Tigers showed they were ready to compete with anyone in the SEC on Wednesday. They already held a conference win over traditional blue-blood Kentucky, but the Wildcats were a mess and dropped out of the top 25 after the loss.
Arkansas was different. The Razorbacks were ranked 13th in both the Associated Press and coaches polls this week, and showed why.
But Missouri was in it until the very end. Even without Kobe Brown for stretches due to foul trouble.
That would have been unbelievable last season, when Brown had to carry most of the load on his own.
“We have a lot of players who can make plays on any given night,” Honor said. “The past two games, three games, it’s been Kobe, but coach always tells us, we gotta adjust when things happen. We gotta control what we can control. Just a testament to our guys preparing for the game... We’re an unselfish team and whoever’s night it is, it’s just their night.”
That’s an encouraging sign as SEC play continues to ramp up. The Tigers will play again on Saturday at Mizzou Arena, a Vanderbilt team they’ll be expected to beat.
Win that and they’ll likely stay in the top 25. They’ll also already be over last season’s win total.
“We feel that we’re one of the top teams in the country,” Honor said. “And we’ll just continue to get better and look at our mistakes and move on.”
Just like the Kansas loss earlier in the season, Wednesday’s game was a measuring stick. This time, the Tigers looked like they belonged.
Missouri will get another crack at Arkansas on Jan. 18. That game won’t feature the powerful Bud Walton Arena crowd that hassled the Tigers all game on Wednesday.
Instead, they’ll have Mizzou Arena behind them. Given the fact that the Vanderbilt game is already sold out, the fans could turn into an advantage for MU.
“I wish we had come away with a win, then (the Arkansas fans) probably would have felt a little silly,” Honor, who took the brunt of the boos from Razorback faithful, said. “But we’ll definitely get them back next time.”
This article originally appeared on Columbia Daily Tribune: Mizzou basketball: Improvement shown despite Arkansas loss
