Missouri’s week was flip-flopped, backwards, opposite.

With matchups against No. 6 Mississippi State and an unranked Arkansas team, any analyst would have bet on No. 24 Missouri beating the latter. But no. Missouri was able to pull through in a big way on Thursday night at home, knocking off the top 10 team by 8 points, their first victory over a ranked opponent.

Given momentum from their underdog win days earlier, you would think the players would come in hot against their now 8-10 rival, Arkansas. And they did, but the fuse went out fast.

The momentum flowed through junior Sierra Michaelis, who drained three treys in the first 5 minutes of the contest, accelerating the team to an eleven point lead early on. It was just like the team that showed up three days earlier.

However, their hot hands drastically cooled in the second quarter where the players couldn’t convert more than one shot from the field. Outrebounded and icey cold from the floor, the Tigers fell fast and hard to a Razorbacks 20-9 run.

The second half saw back and forth play almost all the way through. With practically equivalent shooting numbers, it came down to details. And when you read between the fine lines, Missouri’s performance was rattled at the core.
With a typically efficient inside-outside game head coach Pingeton emphasizes each contest, shut down on both ends, the team that led the Southeastern Conference in rebounding margins, was dominated on the boards. Out rebounded by 12 and shooting nearly 20 percent less than their previous contest, the team’s primary offensive strategy fell to the hands of Arkansas’ man to man defense, resulting in an excessive 18 turnovers.

The deadly combination was enough for their third SEC loss in five games, 64-52.

If the Tigers can bounce back to continue their execution against ranked opponents, a win against No. 15 Texas A&M may be in sight 7 p.m. on Thursday in College Station.