Missouri Basketball Extends Losing Streak in Blowout Home Loss to Auburn
Missouri came into the game with a hope to finally pull out an Southeastern Conference win, but it never truly looked realistic as Auburn dominated 101-74 at Mizzou Arena on Tuesday night.
Auburn is a force in the SEC and excels where Mizzou struggles, anywhere inside. Missouri did manage to fix a large concern of Dennis Gates' in this contest by getting to the free-throw line over 25 times, though it didn't amount to the outcome Mizzou has been looking for.
Auburn controlled the game inside, whether that be in the paint, post, or mid-range. Rebounding was a big reason why the score ended up so lopsided, Missouri had no answer on the boards. In the post, Johnni Broome did whatever he pleased below the rim and created multiple opportunities for Auburn throughout the game.
Auburn shot from behind-the-arc poorly in the first half, one of the big reasons that Mizzou was able to pester the high ranked Auburn squad. Missouri was doing an excellent job at finding the free-throw line and forcing misses from Auburn early in the possession. Missouri was only down five points going into the second half.
Auburn started to find its range though, as well as really exploit their matchups inside. The visiting team's athleticism was on display, blocking shots in the paint and running hard in transition to spread the lead to over 25 with 4 minutes left in the contest.
The X-factor in this game was the halftime adjustment Auburn made from 3-point range. The ability to knock down open shots allowed for it to exploit Mizzou's zone, creating even more inside opportunities. This was the most points Missouri allowed at home all season.
Auburn will be thinking about trying to bring home SEC Championship gold in the upcoming tournament, while Mizzou will be hoping to pick up its first SEC win at LSU on Saturday.
Live Updates: [Most recent at the top]
Second Half
0:00 - This is one of the uglier second halves in recent history for Mizzou as the contest ends with a final score of 101-74 after only being a five point contest at half.
3:42 - This game is all but over. Auburn's inside length and rebounding gave Missouri issues the entire night. Mizzou was able to get to the free throw line, but that was a silver lining to a game that got extremely ugly in the second half. Auburn is up 92-68 late in this one.
7:35 - Missouri is going to lose this game and possibly by double digits even after shooting over 25 free throws in less than 35 minutes. Auburn has just controlled the game inside for the entirety of the contest and has started to make their three-point shots in the second half. Even when Missouri gets the ball deep in the paint, it seems more likely a Johni Broome block is coming than a made shot for Mizzou.
9:38 - A lot of and-one opportunities being traded as this game is being dictated inside. Missouri has made a couple of extremely errant turnovers. this game that Dennis Gates is not going to be happy about. Nick Honor losing the ball leads to an easy transition layup for Auburn as the lead is sitting at 76-61.
11:05 - Auburn us starting to take complete control of this game. Missouri has no answer for Auburn either in the paint, or in the post. Auburn capitalizes on multiple easy inside buckets before a Missouri turnover takes the game to commercial break. Auburn holds a sizable 68-52 lead over Missouri, and it doesn't look like thats gonna change anytime soon.
12:39 - It is not looking good for Mizzou as they are now facing a sizable deficit after missing five straight shots. Both teams are in the bonus, but Auburn holds the 64-50 lead over Mizzou.
15:04 - The refs are loving the review booth tonight. Things are getting chippy between teams as Auburn starts to warm up from the three-point line. Double technical fouls are assessed on Mike Majak for Missouri and James Johnson for Auburn. Auburn is holding a firm lead at 58-46.
15:49 - Missouri has been victimized in a zone all night inside. Auburn is drawing switches at will for easy buckets, and even when they don't they have beaten Mizzou big men with ease. The hole is starting to build for Missouri, they need to stop the bleeding fast if they want a chance in the end.
17:55 - Auburn continues their dominance on the glass and in the paint. Missouri is going to be in for a long second half if they can't stop the switch, especially since it is unlikely Auburn has another shooting half as poor as the first. Auburn expands their lead to 12, standing at 51-39.
First Half
0:00 - Missouri has stuck around through getting to the free-throw line and forcing missed shots from Auburn. Auburn is shooting 2-for-14 from the three-point line, helping Mizzou's efforts. If Mizzou can continue to get to the line and play pesky defense, they may be able to walk out of Senior Night with their first SEC win. Auburn leads 44-39 at the half.
2:45 - Mizzou has lived at the free throw line in the first half. Dennis Gates will be proud of his teams ability to draw fouls to keep this contest close. Auburn is only up 37-35 now.
4:21 - There is a clear rebounding disadvantage on the Missouri side. They hold Auburn to just a six point lead late in the half due to tough defense and free throws.
7:35 - Tamar Bates is carrying the Missouri offense against a good Auburn defense. Missouri is making shots late in the shot clock and getting to the free throw line. That's why regardless of Auburn's size advantage and transition offense being greatly utilized thus far, they only find themselves up 31-25.
9:01 - Dennis Gates will be happy with Mizzou's ability to find the free throw line tonight. Mizzou is getting outplayed in a lot of places right now, but they stay within striking distance. Auburn is holding on to a 25-20 lead.
12:11 - Things escalated very quickly for Auburn, scoring quick bucket after quick bucket to push themselves to a 20-12 lead. Tamar Bates has been the only offense for Mizzou thus far, and that won't be good enough to stick around with a team of Auburn's talent.
12:56 - Auburn is utilizing their size advantage to perfection thus far. Completely dominating Mizzou on the glass and in the paint. Mizzou has had flashes on defense due to pure athleticism though.
15:02 - At the first time-out of the game Missouri already finds themselves in a hole. Auburn capitalizes from three early to build a 12-7 lead over the Mizzou. Will be interesting to see Mizzou's response as they've shown they can battle back multiple times this season.
17:00 - Unlike many Mizzou games this season, scoring is coming relatively to both teams. 14 points split evenly between the teams for a score of 7-7 through three minutes.
18:06 - Tamar Bates is off to an early start, hitting two shots quickly to put the Tigers up 5-2 early.
Projected Starting Lineups:
| Missouri | Auburn |
|---|---|
Nick Honor | Aden Holloway |
Sean East II | Denver Jones |
Tamar Bates | Chad Baker-Mazara |
Aidan Shaw | Jaylin Williams |
Jordan Butler | John Broome |
How to Watch
Who: No. 11 Auburn (22-7, 11-5 SEC) at Missouri (8-21, 0-16 SEC)
Where: Mizzou Arena, Columbia, Mo.
When: Tuesday, 8 p.m.. CT
TV: SEC Network
Series: A recently new meeting, the first matchup between these teams took place in 2013. Missouri would win the inaugural matchup, but Auburn holds the slight 7-to-6 series lead over Missouri all time. Similarly, Auburn holds a narrow 6-to-4 advantage over the last 10 games of the series.
Last Meeting: Last time these two teams faced off was Valentine's Day of 2023. Auburn would come out of that game with a massive 89-to-56 win over Missouri where Johni Broome would score 20 points on Mizzou.
Last Game, Missouri: Mizzou moved to 0-and-16 in conference play against Mississippi in their last outing. Sean East II scored 27 points but it wouldn't be enough to overcome the Rebels. Missouri is still looking for their first SEC win.
Last game, Auburn: Auburn continued their success this season with a blowout win over Mississippi State. Johni Broome led the team in scoring with 17 points in the Tigers win over the Bulldogs.
