Kentucky shot 55% from three as Missouri let up 90 points for a third straight game
No. 15 Missouri men’s basketball closes out the regular season on a three-game losing streak with a loss to No. 19 Kentucky 91-83. Mark Mitchell’s 22-point effort was not enough for the Wildcat’s hot day from deep.
Head coach Dennis Gates made a lineup change in the starting five after dropping back-to-back games to unranked opponents. Graduate center Josh Gray got the nod in place of sophomore forward Trent Pierce, who has started 17 games this season.
Missouri graduate student center Josh Gray shoots under the basket, on Saturday, March 8, 2025, at Mizzou Arena in Columbia, Mo. Missouri lost their last game of the regular season, with a final score of 91-83. (Tess Hubbard/Maneater)
The Tigers’ defense looked much sharper than their previous two outings when they allowed more than 90 points. Throughout the first 8:51 of the game, Kentucky shot only 18% from the field. Missouri’s offense was equally as poor, shooting just 24%.
The Wildcats were the first to string together some offense, stringing together an 11-0 run after the 10-minute mark. Despite shooting poorly from the field, Kentucky found a rhythm from 3-point range, going 5-for-8 to command an 18-13 lead.
Mitchell and graduate guard Tony Perkins were the only Tigers who showed signs of life in the first half. Mitchell scored 12 points and pulled down five rebounds while Perkins scored seven points and had two steals.
Missouri went into halftime hot, nailing four shots in a row, but still trailed 38-29. The Wildcats shot a blistering 58% from three-point range compared to the Tigers’ 23% outside shooting.
“I think it was self-inflicted, obviously they’re a good team,” Mitchell said. “I think we were just missing shots that we usually make.”
Kentucky graduate guard Jacob Crews had a seven-point stretch over the course of two minutes in the middle of the second half, but the Tigers still faced a 14-point deficit. Junior guard Otega Oweh led the charge for Kentucky with 10 points, 10 minutes into the second half.
Missouri graduate student guard-forward Jacob Crews dribbles past Kentucky players on Saturday, March 8, 2025, at Mizzou Arena in Columbia, Mo. Crews ended the game with 12 points. (Tess Hubbard/Maneater)
Missouri found an unlikely hero in graduate guard Marques Warrick, who scored eight points on perfect shooting to bring the Tigers back in the game; 66-61 in favor of the Wildcats. Warrick ended the game with 17 points, the most he’s scored since the Jan. 4 loss to Auburn. The Tigers held Kentucky scoreless for four minutes until Oweh hit a 3-pointer with 5:22 remaining in the game.
The late-game heroics were all for not, as the Wildcats regained a double-digit lead. This shut the door for Missouri, as the score was never closer than six down for the remainder of the game. This was their third straight loss to close the regular season.
Missouri heads into the postseason on a sour note as they travel to Nashville, Tennessee for the SEC Tournament. The Tigers are the No. 7 seed and await the winner of Mississippi State-LSU for their matchup on Thursday, March 13. Conference tournament play will begin on March 12.
Missouri head coach Dennis Gates speaks about the seniors who will be leaving the team on Saturday, March 8, 2025, at Mizzou Arena in Columbia, Mo. Missouri ends the regular season with a record of 21-10 overall. (Tess Hubbard/Maneater)
“The next next stop is trying to compete for the SEC tournament championship,” Gates said. “To be able to win 10 games in this conference is a great accomplishment.”
Edited by Killian Wright | kwright@themaneater.comCopy edited by Natalie Kientzy | nkientzy@themaneater.comEdited by Emily Skidmore | eskidmore@themaneater.com