Missouri men’s basketball dropped its quarterfinal game 70-64 against Arkansas for two key reasons: offensive fouls and the offensive explosion of Arkansas junior guard JD Notae.
The recent SEC Sixth Man of the Year honoree dropped a game-high 27 points off the bench for the Razorbacks. He shot 9-16 from the field and provided a much-needed first-half spark as Missouri shut down freshman guard Moses Moody and senior forward Justin Smith in the first half.
The Tigers built a 10-point lead by the midway point of the first half by forcing turnovers, but they quickly deteriorated with Notae’s offensive explosion.
The junior converted an easy two-hand flush right before the eight-minute media timeout, then went right back to business after the commercial break.
After he hit two mid-range jumpers, Notae tried his luck from further out. After hitting a three from the top of the key, the junior guard tried his luck from the edge of the SEC logo, where the ball hit the back iron and took a lucky bounce into the net to bring Notae’s point total from three to 15 in just over three minutes.
“He’s a good scorer and we knew that when he was coming in,” redshirt senior guard Dru Smith said. “He had a couple tough ones there in the first half that got his head up and he was aggressive after that.”
In just over three minutes, Missouri’s 10-point advantage faded as Arkansas built a six-point cushion over the Tigers.
Missouri bounced back to end the half, going on their second run of the period with senior forward Jeremiah Tilmon scoring five and junior guard Javon Pickett nailing a corner three with under a minute to go to take a one-point lead at the break.
While turnovers were an issue for both teams in the first half, neither side was prepared for the barrage of turnovers that resulted from charge calls in the next half of play.
“I don’t think I’ve been a part of a game with that many [offensive fouls] in the game,” Missouri coach Cuonzo Martin said.
The unofficial count hovered around 17 offensive fouls between Missouri and Arkansas, a result of two well-coached defenses and unforced mistakes.
With so many whistles in the second half, Missouri couldn’t find its rhythm. The Tigers turned the ball over on a quarter of their second-half possessions and made only one field goal over a seven-minute stretch.
“It’s pretty difficult for anybody [to find a flow], but as a team, we got to see things like that coming,” junior guard Xavier Pinson said. “We’re experienced and we got to do a better job reacting to stuff like that.”
While officials called charges evenly on both ends, offensive fouls took a bigger toll on Missouri, as Tilmon and redshirt senior forward Mitchell Smith both picked up their fifth and final foul with over five minutes remaining.
“It was a key loss because those are two guys we count on,“ Martin said. “I think the same for any team we have key guys that you count on, especially in Jeremiah’s case as guys you feel like give you low post production offensively.”
Once Tilmon and Mitchell Smith fouled out, redshirt sophomore forward Parker Braun gave the Tigers a little life off the bench with a pair of free throws and a contested three in a 7-0 run that brought Missouri back to within one possession.
But once again, Notae saved the day for the Razorbacks. After nearly turning the ball over in the paint before gathering it and lofting a desperation heave over Braun to beat the shot clock. Notae’s shot put Arkansas up by five to seal the game with 1:19 remaining.
Missouri made its case for the NCAA Tournament from November through this weekend. The Tigers won against three AP Top-10 opponents and are 4-1 overall against ranked teams. Despite a .500 record in SEC play, there’s little doubt Friday’s loss is Missouri’s last game of the season.
Now, the Tigers’ fate rests in the hands of the tournament selection committee. They wish they could have left a bigger impact in Nashville, but the conference tournament is not the be-all, end-all for the team as the Tigers now set their focus on Indianapolis.
“I’m pissed off at this loss,” Pinson said. “Honestly, we all have worked so far so we just gotta shake this one off and look at what’s bigger, and that’s the national tournament.
_Edited by Kyle Pinnell| kpinnell@themaneater.com_