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The morning after each Mizzou basketball game this season, we will highlight a few notable takeaways from the performance in the ‘And-One.’

When Kentucky went on an 11-2 run early in the second half to extend its lead from four points to 13, the Wildcats’ matchup with Missouri was essentially over. The Tigers’ sluggish offense never cut their deficit to single-digits in the final 14 minutes.

A quick glance at the box score might not suggest such an easy victory. Missouri won the turnover battle, often a problem for the Tigers under coach Cuonzo Martin, and shot better from three-point range than Kentucky. In fact, Missouri actually scored more points from the field during the game, making 21 field goals to Kentucky’s 20.

But the key stat that tells the story of Missouri’s 71-59 loss is free throws. Kentucky went to the line 30 times and made 27. Missouri made 11 of 17 free throws.

In all, Missouri got whistled for 28 fouls during the contest. One Missouri player fouled out, four finished the game with at least four fouls and seven (including Missouri’s three most often-used frontcourt players, Jeremiah Tilmon, Reed Nikko and Mitchell Smith) had at least three fouls.

After the game, Martin and his players didn’t complain about the officiating. (The home team drew its fair share of fouls, too, with 19.) They blamed their own defense. Nikko said the majority of Kentucky’s fouls came when the Tigers let them get the ball in the paint, which had been a point of emphasis entering the contest.

“We have to do a better job of just not letting them get into the paint in the first place,” Nikko said. “A lot of those fouls, they got attempts at the rim. I think we do a better job limiting them on those drives, not letting them get to the rim in the first place, that will alleviate a lot of those fouls.”

Missouri is far from the first team to find itself in foul trouble against Kentucky. The Wildcats, which entered Saturday No. 300 nationally in three-point shooting, have lived inside the arc and at the fshotree-throw line all season. Saturday marked the sixth time in 13 games Kentucky has attempted at least 25 free throws. The team ranks 39th in the country in free throw attempts per field goal attempt and seventh in made free throws.

Martin concurred with Nikko’s analysis, saying “that’s what they do.” He also acknowledged that the foul trouble impacted his team’s rhythm.

“You have to go to your bench at times you don’t want to. That kind of changed the game in some ways.”

Speaking of substitutions, earlier this season, Martin said it would probably take until at least January for mysterious newcomer Axel Okongo to see the floor in a game. But after Okongo, a 7-foot France native who came to Missouri by way of Northwest junior college in Wyoming, didn’t see the floor in the Tigers’ 58-point drubbing of Chicago State on Monday, the chances seemed slim that he would leave the bench during SEC play.

Perhaps the calendar was the biggest determinant in Okongo’s playing time, after all. Late in the first half Saturday — the team’s first game of January — Martin peered down Missouri’s bench and called Okongo’s number for the first time all season.

Martin said he put Okongo into the game in large part due to foul trouble. At that point, both Tilmon and Nikko had drawn two fouls. Martin also felt Missouri needed an infusion of energy and toughness (and likely size to match up against Nick Richards and E.J. Montgomery), so he felt Okongo fit the bill better than Tray Jackson or Parker Braun.

“One thing he doesn’t lack is toughness and energy,” Martin said. “You never want to put him in a situation like that, in that type of environment, but I just felt why not, because he puts so much work in.”

Okongo played just 59 seconds and did not record a stat, but Martin said he could see more minutes as the season progresses.

“He earned the right to be on the floor,” Martin said. “So I think hopefully moving forward he’ll continue to get more minutes.”

Martin also gave more playing time to freshman guard Mario McKinney than usual. Entering Saturday, McKinney had played in just one of Missouri’s last six games, but he was on the floor for 10 minutes against Kentucky.

One of the bright spots for Missouri was the play of true freshman Kobe Brown — at least while he was on the court. Brown hit a three-pointer on Missouri’s first possession and gave the Tigers their largest lead when he drove coast-to-coast and somehow made a layup through three defenders. He finished the game with nine points and three rebounds.

However, Brown only played seven minutes in the second half, which Martin said was due to cramping. Multiple times, he left the game and worked with strength and conditioning coach Nicodemus Christopher off the floor to try to loosen up his leg muscles. Martin said afterward that Brown “had a good game” when he was on the floor.

CAUSE FOR OPTIMISM: Missouri took care of the ball against an opponent that has been adept at creating steals. Kentucky entered Saturday ranking seventh in the country in steal rate, and the Wildcats’ athletic backcourt loved to create transition opportunities off turnovers. Missouri, meanwhile, has struggled with ball security the past three seasons. But the Tigers turned the ball over just 11 times, versus 13 from Kentucky, on Saturday. When the Wildcats employed a three-quarter-court press for a few possessions, Missouri never gave the ball away. Kentucky still ended up scoring a lot of easy points due to the foul disparity, but Missouri will benefit from cutting down its turnovers moving forward.

CAUSE FOR CONCERN: The Tiger frontcourt got abused. Kentucky’s starting power forward and center, Richards and Montgomery, combined for 24 points and 15 rebounds. Even if you add Tilmon to Nikko and Mitchell Smith, Missouri got just 13 total points and seven rebounds from its starters. Martin said after the game that Missouri, which has built its offense around Tilmon and its defense around keeping players away from the rim, has to get more production from his bigs moving forward. Tilmon, especially, needs to get back to being a regular factor, but he’s currently trending in the opposite direction, having played 22 minutes or fewer in six of his last seven games.

STOCK UP: Kobe Brown. The true freshman certainly wasn’t intimidated by his first visit to Rupp Arena. For stretches of the game, Brown looked like the best player on the floor for Missouri. As mentioned above, cramps ultimately limited him down the stretch, but Brown’s willingness and ability to get a bucket through heavy defense should come in handy later in conference play.

STOCK DOWN: Mitchell Smith. With Tilmon a non-factor due to injury and foul trouble, Smith stepped up big against Illinois a couple weeks ago. Put in the same situation Saturday, he was nearly invisible. Smith went 0-6 from the field, including a couple ill-advised fadeaways, and grabbed just one rebound before fouling out. The size of Richards and Montgomery presented a tough matchup for the wiry Smith, but given Tilmon’s foul issues, the Tigers will almost certainly count on Smith to play big minutes at times down the stretch, and he needs to be better than he was Saturday.

UP NEXT: Missouri (8-5) returns home to face Tennessee (8-5) on Tuesday. Tipoff is set for 7 p.m.