3 Takeaways From Mizzou's Blown Loss Against Vanderbilt

Though the No. 14-ranked Missouri Tigers were in the driver's seat against the Vanderbilt Commodores for most of Saturday night's matchup, things changed in crunch time.

The Tigers fell in a 97-93 battle that extended to overtime, making it two-straight losses on the road. A Commodores team coming off a win over the No. 12 ranked Texas A&M Aggies now has a build of momentum with the SEC Tournament rapidly approaching.

Only two games remain for Missouri before that time comes, though its place in both tournaments has been certain for a long time. Now, however, its seed is up in the air.

Here are three takeaways from the Tigers' four-point loss:

A Series of Unfortunate Events

The last two minutes of Saturday's loss might've been the worst stretch of basketball Missouri has played all season.

After leading 77-71 with 1:33 left in the second half, the Tigers blew the lead and allowed Vanderbilt to tie up the game at 81-81. Tyler Nickel and Jason Edwards went back-to-back dropping buckets down the stretch, before an open Nickel hit the climatic 3-pointer with four seconds remaining.

On that particular shot, Trent Pierce froze and missed his assignment on Nickel, which gave little time for any sort of contest. Arguably in the first place coach Dennis Gates could've called timeout or intentionally fouled, but instead he opted to maintain a defensive possession.

From there on in the overtime period, the Commodores comfortably took control of the game. Missouri only lost by four points, but it was clear the spiraling second half was coming back to bite it.

The Tigers have been sound defensively for most of the year, but this performance left a lot to be desired. They'll need to clean up a lot of areas to make it far in March.

Rebounding Wins Games

Missouri's rebounding struggles have largely been figured out this season, but yet again it became a problem against Vanderbilt.

The Tigers lost the rebounding battle 39-28, including an 18-12 difference in the offensive category. The Commodores didn't exactly capitalize on that with their 12 second chance points, but they did shoot 11 more field goal opportunities.

This result is more of an outlier anything — Missouri has been a top five defense in the SEC and garned a solid rebounding rate — but it doesn't make the issues of last night's any less dramatic. If it could've secured the ball on even just a few possessions, it could've saved some big makes from Vanderbilt.

Center Josh Gray ended the game in foul trouble by picking up four, limiting him to just 14 minutes of action. He did grab four rebounds during that time, but his presence could've been used down low for longer than it was.

Consequences for Tournament Play

There hasn't been much pressure on the Tigers in the last couple of weeks. They are a lock for the NCAA Tournament and pose a threat in the SEC Tournament, nothing really could've changed that after they defeated the No. 4-ranked Alabama Crimson Tide.

What does change is the seeding, however. Missouri was looking at getting a double bye in the SEC Tournament with one of the top four seeds, but that possibility has largely been put to rest after the loss. Instead, it'd be seeking a No. 5 seed at most.

The NCAA Tournament is a little bit dependent on how the SEC Tournament plays out, but the same largely goes for it. The Tigers were expected to be receiving a No. 4 seed in many projections, but now it dropping to No. 5 seems to be more of a likelihood.

Is a one-seed difference really going to determine how far Missouri goes in either tournament? Probably not.

The matchups will be the same, and the Tigers' ability to close out games and perform at the same level will be the biggest test above anything. The losses do matter though, so they'll need to start gaining some momentum in the last two games of the regular season.

Losing to the Commodores doesn't ruin everything for Missouri, but it does have some consequences.