Unlike the first matchup between Missouri and Mississippi State this weekend, the Tigers controlled most of the game. Missouri trailed by six points at halftime but used an 11-0 run to take the lead with 14:41 to play.
Yet the final result was the same.
The Tigers would hold that aforementioned lead into the game's final minute, until Mississippi State's Iverson Molinar made a layup to tie the score at 56 with 37 seconds to play. On Missouri's next possession, Boogie Coleman found himself open for a three-point attempt after the player defending him fell down, but the shot glanced off the front iron and into the hands of Shakeel Morris. The Mississippi State guard drove the length of the court and scored to give his team the lead with 10.5 seconds to play.
Missouri would get a final look for the win, but Javon Pickett's three-point try from the right wing didn't fall. Mississippi State escaped Columbia with a 58-56 victory to complete its sweep of the home-and-home series.
The loss marked the fourth time since conference play began that the Tigers have played a game decided by three points or fewer, all at home. They have lost all four.
“You gotta get over the hump," Cuonzo Martin said. "Just gotta make plays, and it’s just tough."
Here are five things we learned from the loss.
1. Missouri's missed opportunities started before the final two possessions.
The Tigers led by two points after Mississippi State big man Tolu Smith made one of two free throws with 1:43 to play. They never really threatened to expand that lead.
On its following possession, Missouri had to settle for a desperation three-pointer from Kobe Brown at the end of the shot clock. Pickett tracked down the rebound to keep the possession alive, but the Tigers once again dribbled out the shot clock, with Coleman this time attempting a deep three to beat the shot clock buzzer. He missed, as well.
On the other end of the floor, Mississippi State got a free timeout of sorts when the officials went to the monitor to review who should get possession of the ball after a pass went out of bounds. They stuck with the call on the floor, Bulldog ball, and Mississippi State got it to Molinar, who had gotten past his defenders all night. He did so once again, tying the game with an uncontested layup.
"That can’t happen," Martin said. "That’s an easy layup in a critical situation."
Missouri still had a chance to answer. Coleman, who broke out of his recent scoring slump with 15 points, appeared to get away with a shove that sent his defender to the floor. That left Coleman, who had made three of six three-pointers to that point, with an open look. He missed. The long rebound provided a fast break opportunity for Moore, and despite a foul from Pickett, he laid the ball in.
Ultimately, each of Missouri's final four field goal attempts came from behind the three-point arc. Considering the Tigers are shooting 27.9 percent from deep this season, worst among all high-major teams, and 19.6 percent across the past three games, those probably aren't the looks the team would have preferred.
“To be specific, I’d have to watch film," Martin said when asked about his team's shot selection down the stretch. "But if they’re open, shoot it.
2. The easiest thing to second-guess is Martin's decision not to call his final timeout.
Martin used Missouri's third timeout prior to Moore's free throw attempt. If Moore had made the free throw, he said after the game, the plan was to get the ball across half court and call a timeout to draw up a play for a three-pointer. But since Moore missed, he wanted his players to try to beat Mississippi State's lineup, which featured three post players, down the floor. It's worth noting that the Tigers had profited in transition earlier in the game, having scored eight fast break points.
"We felt like if they made the (free throw), we’d get it across half court and get the timeout," Martin explained. "When they missed it, we’d make a play at the rim, because they’re backpedaling. Because they had, really, three big guys on the floor. So we felt like we had an opportunity to make a play.”
3. Martin and Pickett both agreed that he could have gotten a better look on the game's final shot, but for different reasons.
When Pickett caught a pass from Coleman on the left wing with about five seconds to play, he found himself defended by 6-foot-10 center Tolu Smith. Pickett tried a shot fake, which got Smith into the air, but he didn't sail past Pickett or contact him. That left Pickett to try an awkward, leaning attempt that appeared off line from the start.
Martin said he would have liked Pickett to drive to the rim rather than attempting a three-pointer. Pickett was more critical of himself for trying the shot fake rather than attempting the three right when he caught Coleman's pass.
I thought Boogie did a great job of getting the ball to Javon on the wing, and I thought Javon had an opportunity," Martin said. "He made the play — but I thought he probably should have drove it — but he made the play he felt like making.”
“Probably should have shot the first one," said Pickett. "We were down two. I saw the defender closing out like with his hands up, so I thought I was going to be able to attack him."
4. Missouri did a much better job than Friday of frustrating the Mississippi State post players, but this time it struggled to stay in front of Molinar.
After Friday's matchup, Martin said Mississippi State's big men "imposed their will" on Missouri. Smith, in particular, dominated around the basket, scoring 16 points. But during the rematch, the Tigers limited Smith to just six points. Fellow forward DJ Jeffries also had six, and Mississippi State scored only 22 points in the paint, 12 less than two nights prior.
Martin said the improvement didn't result from any sort of schematic adjustment, but simply from Missouri's players experiencing the physicality of Mississippi State's frontcourt for themselves and matching that the second time around.
"They do post a lot, and that’s an adjustment," he said. "And they’re physical when they post. So you gotta be able to take the hit, you gotta be able to defend without fouling. ... So it’s just understanding how physical they are.”
With its big men seeing their opportunities limited, Mississippi State turned to Molinar, and he delivered. The Bulldogs' leading scorer routinely got into the lane and either scored or drew contact from Missouri defenders. Half of his 16 points came from the free throw line, where he got 10 attempts — one more than the Tigers' entire roster.
"I felt like we just need to do a better job of being more solid with our hands up so we can’t give refs the chance to call any call, because he’s good at throwing his arms in the air and stuff to get the call," Coleman said. "So just being solid, more solid, and making him finish over top.”
5. On the bright side, Coleman put together his best game in a while.
Martin removed Coleman from the starting lineup Friday, and after the game he essentially said he wasn't playing hard enough. Coleman returned to his starting spot Sunday and played much better. After shooting a combined 4-27 across Missouri's prior four games, he made six of 13 field goals while scoring his second-most points in a game this season. Perhaps just as important, he dished three assists compared to one turnover. Martin described Coleman's performance as "solid."
"It was good to hit shots, but I just want to be more of a complete player," Coleman said. "I didn’t have a good stretch of games, but I tried to bring more to the team than just shooting. Be a leader, talk and defend. But it was good to hit shots so I could help my teammates out, and they kept their faith in me."
Star of the Game: While he may not have made the best decision on the final shot of the game, Missouri wouldn't have kept the game close if it weren't for Pickett. The Tigers' lone senior continually found ways to get behind the Mississippi State defense. He also dished four assists to go along with his 16 points. He has now scored 10 or more points in 11 consecutive games during which he's been healthy.
Room for Improvement: Sunday's loss provided the latest example of a season-long trend: Missouri winding up on the wrong side of a free throw disparity, even on its home court. Mississippi State attempted 24 free throws and made 17, while Missouri shot 7-9 from the line. That helped the Bulldogs overcome a 9-51 shooting night, including 3-14 from three-point range. During conference play, Tiger opponents have now attempted 107 more free throws, an average of 7.6 per game.
What it means: Not much we didn't already know. The Tigers have come up a play or two short a lot more often than they have made those one or two decisive plays this season. The bad news for the Tigers is that they've played in a lot more lopsided losses than easy wins this season. Add that up and you have a 10-17 record. Missouri hasn't been seven games under .500 since Kim Anderson's final season.
Next up: Missouri will face another quick turnaround before facing No. 16 Tennessee on Tuesday, but at least the Tigers won't have to travel between games. The Vols lost 58-48 at Arkansas on Saturday. Tipoff is set for 6 p.m.
Quotable: “We had a couple good looks. I missed an open three. ... But down the stretch, each play matters, and knowing we get good looks and they don’t fall and we get a couple tough plays and calls on the other end, it’s tough on us.” -- Boogie Coleman
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