Despite being favored for the first time in SEC play, the Tigers dropped their ninth straight game.
The Missouri Tigers hit a new low on Feb. 3.
Dennis Gates and company traveled to Vanderbilt for what looked to be his team’s best chance at a conference win remaining on the schedule.
Looks can often be deceiving, as Missouri fell to Vanderbilt 68-61 for the Commodores first SEC victory and sixth win overall.
The Commodores had a balanced scoring attack all game long, with four players ending the game in double digits. They were led by fifth year Ezra Manjon’s 17 points.
Graduate forward Noah Carter had a strong performance, posting team-highs in scoring and rebounding with 20 points and six boards. Junior Tamar Bates added 17 points and five rebounds of his own.
Missouri started off strong as graduate Nick Honor controlled the ball off the tip at the half-court line, and hit Carter streaking down the court for an alley-oop slam.
The early lob was just the start for Carter. The forward scored the Tigers’ first nine points in under two minutes, putting his team up seven.
Graduate guard Sean East II and Bates built on Carter’s early explosion with a run of their own. The Tigers’ leading scoring duo scored the next 11 points. The trio of Carter, East and Bates converted on nine of their first 10 field goal attempts, guiding their team to a 20-9 lead just 6 and-a-half minutes into the first half.
“We were able to jump out to an early lead that I thought gave us a good cushion,” Gates said. “That was a great feeling to be able to do that.”
But just as it was looking like Missouri was going to coast to their first conference victory of the year, the Tigers fell ice cold. Missouri missed their next seven field goal attempts, and the Commodores were able to capitalize. Vanderbilt was able to score 10 points during Missouri’s streak of misses, cutting the Tiger lead to one.
“The ball just rolled around and didn’t fall for us,” Carter said. “It definitely sucks when you go through a drought like that.”
Sophomore Aidan Shaw would break the cold streak with a post layup, followed up by another East bucket, which proved to be the last basket Missouri would score with the lead for the rest of the game.
Carter scored the Tigers’ final five points of the half, which was not enough to put Missouri back ahead as they trailed 32-29 at the break.
The lackluster scoring effort continued into the second half. Missouri made just three field goals in the first ten minutes of the half, two coming from Carter and one from Bates.
Luckily for Missouri, Vanderbilt’s shooting was just as poor, as they were only able to gain one point on their halftime lead.
Scoring opened up in the final 10 minutes of the game, with both squads desperately trading baskets in search of their first SEC victory.
While Vanderbilt had a balanced attack with six different players adding to the Commodores’ point total, the Tigers had only Bates and Honor providing offense. The duo was responsible for their team’s last 24 points, with Bates providing 13 and Honor adding 11.
At the 5-minute mark with his team down by six, senior Mabor Majak made a play that had a chance to change the game for his team. With a loose ball on the ground and Missouri in need of a basket to keep their chances of a victory alive, Majak was the first on the floor and secured a crucial extra possession, resulting in a layup for Bates.
“Mabor has been working and obviously last game he was able to ignite our team,” Gates said. “His energy is infectious … he’s done a tremendous job.”
Bates would score the next time down the floor for the Tigers, cutting the lead to just two points. Vanderbilt quickly canceled out the two Bates baskets with four points of their own their next two trips down the floor.
Trailing by six once again, Honor took matters into his own hands. The guard hit a 3-pointer off a kick-out pass from Carter, and drew a foul and converted on both free-throws to cut the lead to one.
However, even with the momentum from Honor’s run, the Tigers were unable to get the defensive stop that they so desperately needed.
Graduate Evan Taylor hit a mid-range jumpshot, followed by a dagger from senior Tyrin Lawrence over Honor after a costly travel by Bates.
Honor was able to knock down one last triple, but it proved to be all for nothing. The Commodores were able to hold on to their lead and earn their first win in conference play, leaving the Tigers alone at the bottom as the only team yet to win a conference game in the SEC.
Staying true to the rest of the season, rebounding cost Missouri once again. The Tigers were out-rebounded by 11, including 16 Vanderbilt offensive rebounds. A majority of the offensive rebounding success came in the second half.
“Once we went to zone we got the stops but we weren’t able to secure the rebounds,” Gates said. “Sometimes it’s just the bounce of the ball and we were an inch away.”
Missouri is now 8-14 on the year, and has lost 12 of their last 13 games. Nine games becomes the longest it has taken the Tigers to earn their first conference victory since joining the conference in 2012-13.
Edited by Michael Stamps
Copy edited by Grace Knight | gknight@themaneater.com
Edited by Genevieve Smith | gsmith@themaneater.com