Familiar Struggles Creep Up in Mizzou's Season-Opening Loss to Memphis

Many of the issues that caused the Missouri Tigers to finish winless in the SEC last season were apparent in its season-opener against the Memphis Tigers.

Memphis' Moussa Cisse (32) reacts after a foul was called on him during the game between the University of Memphis and Missouri at FedExForum in Memphis, Tenn., on Monday, November 4, 2024. / Chris Day/The Commercial Appeal / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

All things considered, the Missouri men’s basketball teams of the last two seasons are very different. 

The Tigers added five freshmen and five transfers in two of the most highly ranked classes in the country, while keeping just five returners from last year’s team. Two of those returners, Trent Pierce and Aidan Shaw, looked like completely different players in their season debuts.

Coming off the bench, Pierce tied for second in scoring alongside Tamar Bates with 13 points, shooting 5-of-10 from the field in 14 minutes. Shaw also added 11 points of his own on 4-of-4 shooting from the field in 17 minutes. Both exceeded expectations, but it was a welcomed surprise for Missouri.

Jumping out to a 42-32 lead by the end of the first half, the Tigers' identity had a whole new look from a year ago. They were forcing a serious amount of Memphis turnovers, attacked the glass and knocked down shots behind the arc and in transition — much improved play on both sides.

Missouri was in a position to come with a statement in its season-opener. But rather quickly, its struggles from last year began to creep up.

The Tigers of the 2023-'24 season were consistently bogged down by second half collapses. The offense would perform in the first half, but as soon as they stepped out of the locker room after halftime, all the momentum shifted to their opponent.

That was even the case during Missouri and Memphis' matchup last time around on Nov. 10, 2023, when Missouri led 33-26 at halftime but allowed a 44-22 Memphis advantage in the second half, resulting in a double-digit loss.

So when a similar fate struck Missouri again Monday night, it couldn't have come as much of a shock. It blew a 13-point halftime lead, allowing Memphis to outscore it 51-33 in the second half to gain a 83-75 victory at home.

Despite being the two main sources of offense in the first half, Pierce and Shaw hardly received any form of minutes in the second half. At the 7:06 minute mark, Shaw had seen two minutes of action, while Pierce hadn't even seen the floor yet. By that point Memphis took a three-point lead, and there was no going back for Missouri.

"I thought those two guys did give us good minutes, don't get me wrong," coach Dennis Gates said. "But also, ball handling was more important in that second half, because we ended up going with (Anthony) Robinson and Tony Perkins at the same time, and that kind of didn't allow us to go with that same rotation."

Instead of playing the guys that had built momentum, Gates threw in Jacob Crews and Marques Warrick into the fold, who hadn't seen time in the first half. It was far too late in the game from them to find rhythm, which allowed Memphis to take advantage and string together a series of points.

Rotational issues were a constant struggle point for Gates last season. Against Memphis, they were just as apparent and a chief reason for the loss.

The solid start from the three-point line also quickly faded away, finishing 7-of-24 as a collective unit. The Tigers shot nearly 32% from three last season, and similar efficiency issues prevented them from keeping up with Memphis' onslaught of second half points.

Even Caleb Grill — one of the expected sharpshooters on the roster — shot 0-of-4 from behind the arc. In spite of his poor offensive showing, Gates kept him in the game for 28 minutes.

“I take this loss on my shoulders,” Gates said. “I don’t point fingers at our guys one bit at all. It is on Coach Gates. It’s on me. I am responsible for tonight’s second half.”

It's only the first game of the year, but the problems of last season's team aren't supposed to carry over into the next. The questionable rotational decisions and underperformances in the second half can't continue if Missouri wants to have a more successful campaign.

"The lesson is this ... endurance. The ability to complete those two things, that first half becoming now the second half, right?," Gates said. "I think if we are able to continue to know each other and grow in the direction that we need to grow, we'll be able to put two halves together."