After months of speculation, cryptic Instagram stories and countless “will he or won’t he” conversations, Michael Porter Jr. had returned. Missouri’s golden boy brought a jolt of energy to his team’s biggest stage yet and guided Missouri to an early 10-0 lead in a second-round game against Georgia in the SEC Tournament.
It appeared to be everything it was supposed to be and more. And then, suddenly, it wasn’t.
Missouri fans lived out a nightmare Thursday afternoon, watching in horror as the Tigers — and Porter Jr. — missed shot after shot and fouled their way to a 33-24 halftime deficit and 62-60 loss to the Georgia Bulldogs. The Tigers shot 24.2 percent in the first half, 34.4 percent for the game and committed 25 total fouls. Kassius Robertson, the team’s leading scorer, had no points in the first half and finished with just 7, and Porter Jr. shot 5 for 17 from the field.
A team that many picked as a dark horse candidate to win the SEC Tournament was prematurely eliminated by an upstart Bulldogs team.
Missouri’s first half was arguably its worst in any game this season, encapsulating everything wrong with a team that’s come to be defined by its moments of greatness and its other moments of total ineptitude. On Thursday, no player embodied his team’s roller coaster of a season more than Porter Jr.
In his first game since Nov. 10, Porter Jr. tried to do more than his health would allow him to do. Estimating after the game that he was playing at “65-70 percent,” Porter Jr. started his day with a layup on a pass through the lane from his younger brother Jontay, the only Missouri player who, according to Porter Jr., had a good offensive day. But the elder Porter went ice cold from there, missing on his next six shots, including an uncharacteristic airball on a 3 from the top of the key. He finished with 12 points, with his only flash of brilliance coming with 1:00 to go in the game on a 3 that brought his team within one.
Head coach Cuonzo Martin said he didn’t change the team’s offense much with Porter Jr., but that it didn’t exactly go as planned, either.
“It didn’t flow as well,” Martin said. “The biggest thing was really just trying to put Mike in position to where he could catch and shoot, as opposed to having to make plays off the dribble and attack the rim. That takes time when you’re getting your legs under you.”
The Tigers’ identity of a resilient, gritty team, shined through at times, but it was frustration — frustration about the team’s inability to hit open shots and stay out of foul trouble — that proved to be the defining emotion of the day. Missouri simply couldn’t execute when it mattered most, and in the process added to another chapter in the program’s plethora of heartbreaking losses.
Robertson has been Missouri’s most passionate player all season long. His frustration was evident when he spoke to the media postgame.
“We missed some shots that we typically make,” Robertson said. “We missed some easy tip-ins and some layups and some open 3s, but I think we did a poor job of fouling. We put them in the bonus really early, and they made a lot of money at the free-throw line. I think it was more about the defensive end.”
Robertson finished 3 for 10, including a miss on a relatively open 3 in the corner at the end of the game that would’ve given Mizzou an improbable victory. While his poor shooting day was partly due to him taking just three shots in the first half, Robertson was well aware of his offensive failure. He also referenced the team’s lapses on the defensive end, pointing to a 16-0 Georgia run over 8:04 in the first half as evidence of an inconsistent effort from the Tigers.
“I was frustrated that we were losing,” Robertson said of the first half. “We weren’t losing because I wasn’t touching the ball. We were losing because we were giving up baskets.”
Martin was more reserved. He knows Missouri will more than likely play at least one more game this season and said his team benefited from having a game with Porter Jr. back. Now the Tigers can make the changes they need to further integrate Porter Jr. into the team’s offense.
There’s still a lot of work to be done. In a season that’s been marred by inconsistency, Missouri knows it has to turn to its resiliency if it wants to play more than one game in the NCAA Tournament, which starts next week.
It may help for the team to heed the words of Georgia head coach Mark Fox, who’s endured his fair share of adversity with his Bulldogs team this season.
“In life, and in basketball, when the going gets tough, some people run for the hills and other people try and climb them,” Fox said.
To survive next week, Missouri is going to have to climb some hills.
_Edited by Bennett Durando | bdurando@themaneater.com_