What Went Wrong for Mizzou in its Road Loss Against Texas

The Missouri Tigers suffered a frustrating loss at the hands of the Texas Longhorns on Tuesday, Jan. 21, falling 61-53. Not much went right for either squad and efficient and consistent scoring was a rare occurrence but, in the end, the Longhorns found themselves ahead.

Both teams were sloppy but the Tigers led in that department. From turnovers to bad shot attempts, Missouri did not play its best game of the season. They still competed hard and that effort allowed Missouri to hang around but, in the end, it wasn't enough.

As usual, head coach Dennis Gates played unique rotations and a variety of different players, 12 to be exact. It was a physical matchup with high-intensity defense, a case that should be expected in SEC play.

“This is what it looks like night in, night out,” Gates said. “It's gonna be possession by possession and it's the best basketball that you can watch."

For both teams, the number of fouls and free throw attempts was an issue. The Tigers fouled Texas 26 times and handed them 30 attempts at the charity stripe. The physicality was like nothing the Tigers had seen all season and Texas's ability to make the game messy also created a glaring speedbump for Missouri.

“The situation that I think both teams would probably want back is the inability to foul and put both opponents, we shot 27 free throws. They shot 30,” Gates said.

Not only was the number of free throws not in favor of Missouri, so were the percentages. Texas shot 76.7% from the line on 30 attempts and Missouri 70.4% on 27. The Tigers usually shoot 71.9% from the line, on average and get to the line 28 times a game.

“We were 19-for-27 from the free-throw line,” Gates said. “We gotta get on the road above 80%."

Long story short, both teams fouled too much. Despite being a team that gets to the foul line in the top percent of teams in the country, they allowed too many attempts and did not make enough of their own.

“From a head coach's perspective, they shot too many and then I'm sure in their locker room, they're saying we shot too many,” Gates said.

The rebounding difference also affected the Tigers. Texas grabbed 14 offensive rebounds and scored 20 points off those boards. Guard Jordan Pope capitalized on Missouri's inability to clean up on the glass and nailed two triples as a result, both of which were helpful in pushing ahead late in the second half.

“The one thing that I would say is telling, [Jordan] Pope, the second chance three-point shots that he made,” Gates said. “They both came from second chance, and they were timely, deep three-pointers.”

Missouri also turned the ball over too much. Both squads committed 10 turnovers, right around where both teams average per game. The six assists they earned were not good enough, however.

Partially due to the inability to put the ball in the hoop, that number was naturally going to be lower. There were buckets that Missouri needed that should have gone in that would have made an impact on the game, ones that have been falling in past conference games.

“We ended up with six assists and 10 turnovers and you got to find those categories to get extra possessions,” Gates said.

Missouri has time to rectify its mistakes made against Texas. A lone loss in conference play doesn't always mean the sky is falling as long as those mistakes and losses don't compound.

Missouri's next matchup is against the No. 16 ranked Ole Miss Rebels at 5:00 p.m. CT on Saturday, Jan. 25 at Mizzou Arena.

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