In the opening minutes of Missouri men’s basketball’s conference tournament matchup with Kentucky, the Tigers offense struggled to find a spark.
Mark Mitchell attempted an alley-oop to Shawn Phillips Jr. that missed its mark, then Phillips committed MU’s first turnover just a few seconds later after he was stripped of the ball and it bounced out of bounds off his body.
The sequence was representative of the Tigers’ first half offensive struggles as Phillips got into early foul trouble and Kentucky
targeted Trent Burns’ defense in the paint, forcing head coach Dennis Gates to fill minutes at center by playing true freshman reserve Nicholas Randall for the first time in nearly a full month.
Mizzou’s search for an answer from their big men allowed the Wildcats to take control and build up a 16-point lead over the first 26 minutes in Nashville.
The Tigers came close to erasing that slow start by igniting in the second half, even taking the lead in the final three minutes, but were unable to finish their late surge and fell 78-72.
Mitchell again fueled the MU offense when it mattered most, scoring 23 points over the final 20 minutes and finishing with 32 total to tie the career high he set last game against Arkansas.
Mizzou started to battle back with a 7-0 run initiated by Phillips to cut its deficit to single digits with 13:03 remaining, prompting a UK timeout.
The senior center came on strong in the second half, finishing the game with eight points on a perfect 3-for-3 mark from the field and five rebounds. He also committed some costly fouls in the second half with an off-ball flagrant one foul and a technical in the game’s final minute.
MU cut its deficit to one point with just over four minutes remaining on back-to-back threes from Mitchell and Trent Pierce, connecting on timely shots from deep after the team struggled to sink its triples in the first half.
And Mitchell gave the Tigers their first lead since the opening three minutes of the game on a turnaround jumper with 2:34 remaining, the culmination of a 10-2 scoring streak to put Kentucky on its heels.
But the Wildcats had one last push, taking the lead right back on free throws by Denzel Aberdeen that began a run of seven unanswered points to advance UK to the quarterfinals.
Otega Oweh led Kentucky with 21 points, joined by fellow guards Denzel Abeerdeen and Collin Chandler in double-digits with 16 and 15 points, respectively.
T.O. Barrett was the only other MU player with double-digit scoring, finishing the game with 13 points alongside seven rebounds and seven assists.
The defeat moves Mizzou to 20-12 on the season.
After several losses by fellow bubble teams earlier this week, that record should still be good enough to secure the Tigers a spot in the NCAA Tournament. The question now for MU is likely whether or not it will need to play its way into the field of 64 through a mid-week matchup at the First Four in Dayton.
Mizzou awaits the selection committee’s decision, which will be revealed Sunday starting at 5 p.m. on CBS.
