Mizzou might be last in the SEC standings, but the team has rarely let it affect the type of effort it gives each night. Despite being winless in conference play, the Tigers have a better point differential this season than both Arkansas and Vanderbilt, losing games by an average of 4.9 points per outing.

The black and gold’s heart was put on display again Tuesday as they hung tough with No. 5 Tennessee. KenPom predicted Missouri to lose the game by 14 points. Yet, the Tigers went into halftime holding a three-point halftime lead before falling behind in the second and losing the game, 72-67.

“I don't know what everybody else expected. This is what we expected, as a team, in Missouri,” Tennessee head coach Rick Barnes said. “Dennis (Gates') teams, they play hard. They had a chance to win the game the other night on the road at Ole Miss and we knew they were gonna come in and fight. And it's hard to do that when you've had to kind of conference season that they've had, but it's really a credit to he and his players because they fought.”

Both the hosts and the visitors had a brutal start to the matchup offensively. By the under-12 media timeout of the first half, Tennessee (20-6, 10-3 SEC) had a 6-2 edge on MU. The two teams combined to go 1-17 from the floor and committed 10 turnovers. The Tigers didn’t make their first field goal until junior guard Tamar Bates knocked down a 3-pointer from the left corner at the 10:56 mark of the period.

Mizzou would go on to take the lead, pushing ahead 14-13 after a floater from graduate senior guard Nick Honor with 6:34 left in the half. The shot made Honor the first player to get two shots to fall and gave him a game-high four points.

That type of defense can be expected from a Tennessee team that ranks fifth in KenPom’s defensive efficiency margin, holding opponents to 92.3 points per 100 possessions. But it’s not typical from Missouri, which ranks 163rd in the country allowing 105.6 points per 100 possessions.

But the Tigers’ intensity on the defensive end kept their heads above water. By halftime, graduate senior guard Dalton Knecht, Tennessee’s leading scorer who came into the evening averaging 20.1 points, was held to just two, shooting 0-6 from the field and 2-4 at the free throw line. The Volunteers went into the locker room trailing 29-26.

“I mean, we talked about it. We said if our offense wasn't there, that the defense has to pick up, it's gotta multiply,” graduate senior forward Noah Carter said. “So you know, if we weren't making shots, we weren't gonna let them make shots. And that's kind of what our mindset was. It wasn't expected to go that long. I think the score was 2-1 for, I mean, at least to the first media timeout and a little bit after that. But yeah, I mean, it was just about getting our defense together and if we're not scoring, we can't let them score.”

Tennessee’s leading scorer in the first was sophomore forward Tobe Awaka, who had eight points on 3-4 shooting off the bench. Barnes chose to roll with bigger lineups in the second half, playing Awaka more minutes next to junior starting center Jonas Aidoo.

The move worked in Barnes’ favor, as Awaka led his team with 18 points while Aidoo added 14. The extra physicality affected Mizzou, too, as the Tigers were called for seven consecutive fouls to start the period before the Volunteers were called for their first. Freshman forward Jordan Butler, who’d been disruptive on the defensive end with two blocks and a steal, fouled out midway through the half.

The tightening of the whistle took away from the momentum the hosts had built. While Mizzou hung tough throughout through the stretch, the foul disparity upended the Tigers’ rhythm and allowed Knecht to find his.

Knecht got his first field goal to fall at the 13:18 mark of the second half. The next trip down, he nailed a kick-out 3-pointer assisted by Aidoo that slashed MU’s lead down to two points. Knecht went on to score 15 points in the second half, finishing with 17.

“We knew Dalton Knect was going to come out and make some shots. And he made some tough ones. I thought our guys got discouraged at that point, you know?” Gates said. “He's the SEC Player of the Year. At least, he has my vote. That's what he is.”

Graduate senior guard Sean East II ended the evening with 24 points, six assists and four rebounds. Carter followed with 20 points, seven boards and one assist. But despite the big performances, the Tigers were unable to regain their lead, suffering their 13th consecutive loss.

Mizzou’s fight wasn’t enough to take down a top-five team in the country. But it might not be far from its first conference win if it can play that way the rest of the season.

The Tigers’ head coach has consistently harped on his players all season about getting to the free throw line. The team had an above-average night getting to the line against the Volunteers, taking 21 foul shots and making 15.

But Gates feels like there is still a lot left to be desired. Despite being 14th in the nation making 78.0% of its free throws, foul shots have accounted for just 18.5% of the black and gold’s points scored this season, which ranks 195th. Missouri attacked the rim often against Tennessee but struggled at times to earn enough contact to warrant a whistle. The Tigers ended the game shooting just 9-18 on layups.

“The big picture of it all was our inability — we gotta do a better job drawing fouls,” Gates said. “I think we suck at it. We're fucking terrible. We're terrible at drawing fouls and we got to do a better job.

“Y’all can write that in there, right? Make sure you don’t bleep that out.”

Freshman forward Trent Pierce has been sidelined with an ear infection since Jan. 27, missing Mizzou’s last seven games. Pierce did not appear to be with the team on the bench during Tuesday’s outing.

Gates did not have an update immediately following the game but said he will soon.

“We'll have more of an update tomorrow as it relates to Trent Pierce,” Gates said. “But he's doing good, he's doing fine, doing a little bit better.”

The Tigers (8-18, 0-13 SEC) will head to Bud Walton Arena in Fayetteville, Ark., on Saturday to take on the Razorbacks (13-13, 4-9) at 11 a.m, the game airing on ESPN2.

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