Missouri men’s basketball had a week of highs and lows, securing an upset victory over No. 4 Alabama before losing on the road against unranked Arkansas. After splitting the two games, Missouri moves to 20-7 on the year, with only three regular season games remaining. 

Defensive struggles 

During this set of two games, Missouri suffered from poor defensive play. Against Alabama, Missouri allowed its most points in a single game with 98 from the Crimson Tide. The Tigers countered with their second highest scoring game this year with 110 to claim the win. Against Arkansas, Missouri struggled yet again allowing its third highest scoring game at 92 points. This time, Missouri could not replicate its triple-digit performance, scoring 85 in defeat.

Missouri has shut down fast break offense at a high level this year thanks to its transition defense. Only 9.6% of opponents’ points have come in the fast break. Arkansas notched 22 points in the fast break against Missouri, coming out to 23.9% of their points in that game.

Free throws = key to victory 

Missouri has averaged 27.3 free throws per game, putting them in third place among all Division I teams. This was apparent against Alabama where Missouri shot 47 free throws and made 31 for a 66% success rate. Free throws were a key factor during Missouri’s win over Alabama, but they were also a factor in the loss to Arkansas. The Tigers only attempted 17 free throws in the game and made 13. 

Mitchell emerging as team leader

Junior Mark Mitchell has had some ups and downs for the Tigers, much like during his career at Duke. Starting with the game against Texas, Mitchell scored less than 10 points in four straight. Since that point, Mitchell has been the leading scorer in three of five games, including both this week. 

Mitchell excels in getting to the line as he attempts 6.5 free throws per game. That puts him in the 99th percentile among all Division I players and his recent performance has made a huge difference for the Missouri team. 

Missouri hosted unranked South Carolina at 8 p.m. on Tuesday, Feb. 25 before starting a two-game road stretch against Vanderbilt and Oklahoma on March 1 and March 5, respectively.

Edited by Colin Simmons l csimmons@themaneater.com

Copyedited by Micah Shulman and Emma Short | eshort@themaneater.com

Edited by Annie Goodykoontz | agoodykoontz@themaneater.com