What the Heck Happened to Missouri?

Three key areas give Musselman opportunity to exploit Tigers, get Arkansas Razorbacks back on track

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – Missouri was supposed to be the next big thing to come out of SEC basketball.

Dennis Gates was the darling of SEC coaches with his scrappy teams and immense likability. Every sign imaginable pointed to him building a powerful machine in Columbia.

Yet, much like Arkansas, the Tigers are about to enter February as the game circled on everyone's calendars as an opportunity to either take a mental break from the SEC grind or turn things around. And that's exactly how Missouri and the Razorbacks view each other – an opportunity to turn an otherwise disappointing season around.

For Arkansas, the thought is to improve upon what worked defensively against Kentucky, throw in a dash of offense, and possibly put together a winning streak with back-to-back games against struggling Mizzou and LSU teams. As for Gates, he's hoping a win over the Razorbacks can get the Tigers over the mental hump with their first SEC win so things can return to normal the rest of the season.

"I have not been happy with the effort over the course of the last couple of weeks," Arkansas coach Eric Mussselman said after a close loss to Kentucky Saturday. "Tonight I have to go in the locker room and tell them we have to get ready for Missouri. I can't fault their effort. We are not a good offensive team. All you have to do is watch the game. We struggle at taking care of the ball, but because of effort and defense tonight, we were in the game."

Mizzou seems to be a relative mirror to Arkansas. There are obvious struggles on defense. Kentucky and Alabama both put up 90+ points on the Tigers. In SEC play, Missouri has yielded an average of 78 points per game despite playing some of the lowest scoring teams in the conference.

On the offensive side of the ball, the Tigers have struggled to do a whole lot. They average 68 points per game in SEC play, but that number has been steadily going down as the season progresses. In the two games leading into the showdown with Arkansas the Tigers have put up a paltry 60 points per game average in losses to Texas A&M and South Carolina.

"Statistic-wise, I don't know if you will ever see a team shoot 27% from field goals, 22% from three and then win the ball game or not even have a deficit at halftime," Gates said after the 63-57 loss to Texas A&M. 

The three most glaring issues for Missouris are offensive rebounding, an extreme love for shooting three-point shots and turnovers. In a loss to Florida a couple of weeks ago, the Tigers only managed four offensive rebounds despite the best efforts of former Arkansas Razorback Connor Vanover. Saturday's loss to South Carolina only yielded five.

As for getting its feet planted behind the arc, it wouldn't be surprising to see Mizzou shoot at least 30 threes Wednesday night. It only takes one make early on to feed the addiction.

As for turnovers, Gates must have nightmares of his team giving up steals and throwing the ball away. On the season, the Tigers average 11 per game. In the previous two games, Missouri has turned it over 27 times. 

That gives Arkansas coach Eric Musselman a clear blueprint with which to work to possibly get the Razorbacks on track. That will be important because for one team the season will pretty much end with a loss Saturday while the other gets a breath of life.

Tip-off from Columbia will be at 7:30 p.m. on the SEC Network and FuboTv.

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