Missouri's Dajuan Gordon, left, and Anton Brookshire stand peacefully waiting for the free throw to go up on Monday, Nov. 15, 2021 at Mizzou Arena in Columbia.
Missouri men’s basketball played a forgetful 40 minutes Monday, suffering a disappointing 80-66 upset to the University of Missouri-Kansas City Roos at Mizzou Arena in just their second game of the season.
UMKC came out firing, and never relented on offense. The Roos led for over 37 of the game’s 40 minutes and were in firm command of the game’s momentum from the opening tip off. By halftime, UMKC led by 9, and its advantage ballooned to as high as 22 points midway through the second half.
Missouri showed some signs of life in the second half, when junior guard Amari Davis dove inside for a putback layup following a missed free throw, followed by a forced turnover and later a basket from junior forward Kobe Brown on the next possession.
With rhythm seemingly shifting toward the Tigers for the first time all night, UMKC graduate guard Evan Gilyard II pulled up from deep on the very next play and drilled a 3-pointer for the Roos that silenced the crowd at Mizzou Arena.
With the clock winding down on Missouri head coach Cuonzo Martin’s third loss to a non Power Five school, reality began to set in among those in attendance — an ugly loss was fast approaching.
When the final buzzer sounded, the box score told most of the story.
The Tigers struggled to shoot the ball, managing just 4 made 3-pointers as a team on 28.6% shooting. Missouri also did itself no favors from the charity stripe, converting on just 14 of their 24 opportunities at the free throw line.
Where the Tigers came up short, the Roos stepped up. UMKC shot 47.8% from three as a unit, drowning out Missouri’s defense with a barrage of long-range jumpers.
The Roos capitalized on their fastbreak opportunities and forced 18 takeaways — leading to 20 points from turnovers alone, doubling the Tigers total of just 10 points. The visitor’s switch to a zone defense spelled trouble for their offensive flow, just as it did last week against Central Michigan when they ran a similar scheme on defense.
After the game, Martin credited the Roo’s defense, but also voiced dissatisfaction with his team’s shot selection.
“Credit to UMKC … we settled on the perimeter a lot,” Martin said. “The three will look good early, but you gotta take the drive.”
It wasn’t only offensive woes that plagued the Tigers. Missouri had no answers for Gilyard, who poured in 28 points on 10-15 shooting, with 6 made 3-pointers on just 8 attempts.
Senior guard Javon Pickett, who scored just 9 points on 3-9 shooting after dropping 18 in the season opener, acknowledged the team’s shortcomings that led to a difficult defeat.
“We didn’t really play good defense today,” Pickett said. “[And] we got to start making our free throws.”
Brown, who led the Tigers with 20 points on 8-11 shooting, offered some answers on how the team will look to bounce back and move forward.
“It’s a learning experience,” Brown said. “Take this one on the chin and keep going.”
Missouri looks to put together a better showing on Nov. 18, when it takes the court against Northern Illinois at 7 p.m. at Mizzou Arena in the final leg of a three-game homestand.
Edited by Kyle Pinnell, kpinnell@themaneater.com