Alex Oriakhi sat on the bench, upset that Missouri’s defense collapsed to end the game. Laurence Bowers, who fouled out of the game before the end of regulation, joined him, and both could only sit back and watch as Missouri’s defense tripped at the finish line at Rupp Arena in Kentucky.
After upsetting No. 8 Florida at Mizzou Arena last Tuesday, the Tigers fell to Kentucky in overtime 90-83 to leave Missouri at 19-8 on the season. Following the loss, Missouri received a lone vote in the Associated Press Top 25 rankings, a steep drop from December when they were ranked No. 7 in the nation before losing to UCLA.
“We’ve got every right to be disappointed,” Oriakhi said. “We should be disappointed in ourselves, no matter whether (coach Frank Haith) is disappointed in us or not.”
With three weeks left in Missouri’s inaugural season in the Southeastern Conference, the team is still looking to firmly gain its foothold in both their conference and an at large bid in the NCAA tournament.
While addressing the media on Monday, Haith emphasized that the Tigers problem wasn’t on the offensive end but came from recent defensive collapses.
“It’s very frustrating — extremely frustrating,” Haith said. “We can’t be the team we want to be. We have to surrender the ‘me’ for ‘we.’ We get to that point in the second half when guys feel like they’re not getting their shots or getting their touches and therefore it’s affecting their effort and what they do on the defensive end and that’s very disturbing.”
Despite the season quickly coming to a close, Haith said he has not heard his team discuss how they feel about the conference tournament or securing a berth in the NCAA Tournament even after their recent losses.
“I don’t pay attention to that stuff,” Haith said. “As a matter of fact, I don’t want our guys talking about it. We don’t do that. We’ve gotta worry about taking care of our business.”
While Haith said he is aware of the postseason predictions, he tries to keep the players focused on the thing directly ahead of them, the next game.
“We’re still in good position as far as I know,” Haith said. “We’ve had some good wins.”
When the players addressed the media later, some admitted to thinking about the postseason. But they maintained that Thursday’s game against South Carolina, and improving on the defensive end, is the main focus for them at this time.
Senior guard Keion Bell said the team doesn’t need to worry about late game scenarios, instead needing to focus on the game as a whole from possession to possession.
“It’s a long season,” Bell said. “If you start to look down the line, that’s how the losses start to pile up, so you just gotta take it one game at a time.”
Bowers, one of the more experienced big men on the team, agreed with Haith’s comments about the defense and said Missouri is capable of having success on defense when the time calls for it.
“We just have to come out and be more physical on the defensive end,” Bowers said. “The guys on the court are totally accountable for that.”
For Oriakhi, who transferred to Missouri for his last year of college eligibility, the continuing losses and defensive letups have begun to take their toll.
“It was just the same sad story,” Oriakhi said. “Me, personally, I was just loss for words. It was hard to even say anything because I feel like everything’s been said. It’s extremely frustrating, makes me feel like punching a wall sometimes. There’s nothing you can really do, you have to move on. That’s the only thing I know.”