“I think it was mental mistakes for us, really.”
That quote from graduate guard Nick Honor summed up Missouri men’s basketball’s night against Mississippi State, as the Tigers fell 63-52 in frustrating fashion to the Bulldogs on the road Saturday evening.
Missouri registered a negative assist-to-turnover ratio for just the fifth time this season, and the Tigers missed too many jumpers — even open ones. Missouri has now lost eight consecutive games in Starkville dating back to 2013.
The Tigers registered season-lows in numerous shooting categories. Their 52 points were the lowest since they scored 50 last January against Iowa State. They registered their worst shooting percentage from the field, at 32% since they shot 31.4% last February against the same Mississippi State team.
Their 66.7% clip from the free throw line was their lowest since they registered the same number in last year’s conference tournament against Ole Miss. However, Missouri head coach Dennis Gates wasn’t too worried about the porous performance at the charity stripe.
“We had the right guys shooting free throws,” Gates said. “I think those guys have shown over a period of time to be able to knock down free throws. They just didn’t fall tonight.”
The Bulldogs controlled both halves of the game.
In the first half, senior forward Noah Carter picked up three early fouls, which contributed to him only playing seven of the first 20 minutes of game action. The Tigers could not create much offense inside or outside of the paint, as only graduate forward DeAndre Gholston and senior guard Isiaih Mosley registered multiple made field goals.
It wasn’t all bad for Missouri, however. The Tigers went on a 10-0 run early in the second half to cut the Bulldog lead to just 4.
“I think it was our energy,” Honor said. “We pushed the ball a lot more [during that run].”
However, the cold shooting returned soon after, as Missouri did not convert a field goal for nearly the next seven minutes. After the six-minute mark, Mississippi State never let its lead dip below 10, and the Bulldogs walked out of “The Hump” with just their third conference victory of the season.
Mississippi State redshirt senior forward Tolu Smith wreaked havoc in the paint all night long, registering 25 points on 8/12 shooting while snatching 12 rebounds. He scored 27 last Saturday against TCU, marking the first time in Smith’s career that he’s scored at least 25 points multiple times in a calendar week. The big performance also extended his streak of double-digit point games to seven.
“I thought he finished through contact well,” Gates said. “I think he does a great job of sealing and getting positioned. I think he’s one of the top post players in the country.”
Despite the loss that dropped Missouri to a 2-4 record on the road, Gates is not discouraged about the team’s struggles away from home, especially considering the teams that the Tigers have fallen to — Arkansas, Texas A&M, Florida and now Mississippi State.
“Those are big-time teams,” Gates said. “Those are NCAA Tournament teams in my eyes. Ultimately, our guys played well, but not well enough.”
Next game, Missouri will travel back to Columbia to take on South Carolina on Tuesday, while Mississippi State’s next game is not until Wednesday, when they host LSU. Tipoff against the Gamecocks will be at 8 p.m.
Edited by Matt Guzman | mguzman@themaneater.comCopy edited by Lauren Courtney