Initial Reactions to Mizzou's 20-Point Loss to Kansas

What we learned about the Tigers in their second loss of the season.

Dec 7, 2025; Kansas City, Missouri, USA; Missouri Tigers guard Sebastian Mack (12) shoots against Kansas Jayhawks guard Melvin Council Jr. (14) and guard Elmarko Jackson (13) during the second half at T-Mobile Center. Mandatory Credit: Jay Biggerstaff-Imagn Images | Jay Biggerstaff-Imagn Images

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Missouri faced its best test yet Sunday against No. 21 Kansas, and the Tigers unraveled quickly after building early momentum. Missouri suffered a 80-60 loss, dropping to 8-2 on the season.

Missouri basketball reporter Joey Van Zummeren gave his initial thoughts from the game at the T-Mobile Center. You can watch his analysis using the YouTube link below.

The most concerning part of the game for Missouri was its lack of offensive production, an issue that also popped up in the Tigers' loss to Notre Dame. Missouri shot 34.4% from the field and 52.4% on free-throw attempts. Gates identified the free throws and the perimeter shooting as the two biggest issues for the offense.

"We just got to knock down the shots," Gates said. "At the end of the day, our guys do a good job. Jevon Porter had three open looks, I thought from behind, or three of his four with open looks. One at the top of the key, one to start the game, and then an additional one. We can't go 1 for 4 in those situation again. It was great to see those guys knock down shots toward the end. But ultimately, those are those shots when I think of our execution that was missing from that 25. So free throws and those open looks, and I'll go back and count them. We generated the shots, we just didn't knock them down, and it didn't go our way."