As a young team in Division I college basketball, certain games serve as a harsh reality check.
Missouri men’s basketball 77-59 loss to Utah on Thursday night was just that.
The Tigers are unquestionably a team loaded with talent, but the road loss sent a clear message: This group is going to take time to truly gel.
The loss dropped Missouri to 2-1 on the season. It marked the first loss for Cuonzo Martin as head coach of the Tigers.
The game was also the 36th consecutive road loss for Mizzou. The Tigers have not won a true road game since a Jan. 28, 2014 victory over Arkansas.
Utah dominated the game from tip-off, and the team never trailed through the entirety of the game. Missouri’s cast of young talent looked unfocused from the beginning.
“That’s the one thing we talked to our guys about: True road games test who you are as a team,” Martin told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. “You’ve got to be focused. You’ve got to be locked in.”
It didn’t help that there was a proverbial lid on Missouri’s basket to start the game, as the Tigers shot 0-7 from the field to start.
Freshman center Jeremiah Tilmon was plagued by his personal gremlin: foul trouble. He recorded just two points and five fouls in six minutes of action.
The overwhelming bright spot for Missouri was the play of sophomore center Reed Nikko. He received extensive playing time after Tilmon was removed early because of foul trouble and recorded eight points with nine rebounds off the bench.
Missouri struggled from the field, shooting 35 percent (18 for 52 on field goals). The team was even worse from beyond the arc, shooting 5 for 27. The Tigers also recorded 14 turnovers to Utah’s six.
Graduate transfer Kassius Robertson, senior Jordan Barnett and junior forward Kevin Puryear accentuated Missouri’s first-half struggles, shooting 0-13 from the field and leading to a 35-19 first-half deficit.
Robertson found his stroke in the second half and finished with a team-high 12 points, while Puryear ended up scoring 11.
“We needed that,” Robertson told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. “We needed that. We got kicked in our mouth … and we didn’t respond well at all.”
Missouri was also without star freshman forward Michael Porter Jr. for the second straight game due to an undisclosed injury. Mizzou Athletics reiterated that his status would be re-evaluated early next the week.
The Tigers will have a chance to improve on the poor performance back home at Mizzou Arena on Monday, when the team hosts Emporia State. Tip-off is scheduled for 7:00 p.m; the game can be viewed on SEC Network+.
_Edited by Joe Noser | jnoser@themaneater.com_
