Mizzou Out Battled by Arkansas, Creates Longest Losing Streak in Program History

Missouri Tigers men's basketball allowed Khalif Battle to score a career high 42 points in the loss.

Missouri Tigers men’s basketball rewrote the record books on Saturday in Arkansas. After falling to the Razorbacks 88-73, the team has lost 14 straight games for the first time in program history.

Saturday’s loss was one of the more competitive game of Missouri’s conference stretch but the Tigers still struggled to put together a complete game. A Connor Vannover dunk for Missouri tied the game at 50 with 11:04 remaining but the Tigers failed to score a field goal for the following six minutes.

Arkansas was able to separate through Missouri’s second half offensive struggles by way of success with shooting the three and a dominant run from Khalif Battle. The senior guard set a career high with 42 points, including 18 from outside the arc. He became only the second SEC player this season to score 40 points this season.

Saturday was another slow start for the Missouri offense, who did not score a first field goal until the 15:04 mark in the first half. After starting out 0-for-11 on shots against Tennessee on Tuesday, Missouri started 0-for-5 against Arkansas. Graduate guard Sean East was able to generate things offensively, scoring 12 points in the final four minutes of the first half to bring Missouri’s deficit to two heading into halftime.

East led the team with 33 points with Nick Honor contributing 14 points, including 12 from three-point shots. But the Missouri bench did not provide enough assistance, only scoring seven total points.

Missouri has four more games remaining on their regular season schedule, starting with a game in Gainesville against No. 24 Florida on Wednesday, Feb. 28 at 5:30 p.m.

Here’s more on how Missouri’s loss against Arkansas happened:

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Live Updates: [Most recent at the top]

Second Half:

FINAL: Missouri 73, Arkansas 88

1:05 - Sean East makes two free throws and is up to 33 total points but it won't matter. Missouri 73, Arkansas 84

2:07 - Arkansas has a firm lead now as Missouri's offensive struggles have continued. Only four points from the field for Missouri in the last nine minutes. Missouri 68, Arkansas 79

6:58 - Arkansas' Khalif Battle is absolutely on fire in the second half. He just made a three and the free throw that came with it. Six threes, career high of 38 total points. Arkansas has the largest lead of the night. Missouri 54, Arkansas 65

9:13 - Arkansas is starting to separate with the three. 4-for-7 outside the arc just in the second half, creating great momentum for Arkansas as evidenced by an electric crowd. Missouri 52, Arkansas 59

11:04 - A Connor Vannover dunk ties the game on a second-chance bucket, silencing a loud Bud Walton arena. Missouri 50, Arkansas 50

13:16 - Missouri starting to get into foul trouble as four different players have three fouls — Jordan Butler, Nick Honor, Anthony Robinson and Connor Vannover. Missouri 46, Arkansas 44

15:50 - Missouri has its first lead since 8:17 in the first half. Nick Honor just made his his fourth three of the game. Missouri 44, Arkansas 41

First Half Stats:

First Half:

0:00 - Sean East is making this a close game. He has 10 of Missouri's last 12 points, including a layup at the buzzer.  Missouri 34, Arkansas 36

5:03 - Missouri's offense is trying to get creative in the paint but unable to find much success. Arkansas on a 12-to-2 scoring run in the last. Missouri 22, Arkansas 27

9:33 - Arkansas coach Eric Musselman is getting pretty firey. Was just issued a bench warning. Missouri has its biggest lead of the game after a smooth reverse layup from Tamar Bates. Missouri 20, Arkansas 15

10:34 - For anybody who is a connoisseur of free throws, this is a thrilling game. Lots of whistle early. Missouri 5-for-5, Arkansas 1-1 from the line so far. Both teams are a combined 9-for-24 from the field. Missouri 15, Arkansas 13

16:34 - After a long review, Mitchell was called for an intentional elbow to the face of Carter. Two shots are good for Carter. Missouri 2, Arkansas 0

16:34 - Officials are reviewing a physical tie up between Noah Carter and Makhi Mitchell. This is about as bad as an offensive start as Missouri's game against Tennessee. Missouri is guarding the paint well defensively but not finding any good looks offensively. Missouri 0, Arkansas 0

Starting Lineups: 

Missouri	Arkansas
Tamar Bates	Khalif Battle
Nick Honor	El Ellis
Sean East II	Davonte Davis
Jordan Butler	Tramon Mark
Noah Carter	Chandler Lawson

How to watch

Who: Missouri (8-18, 0-13 SEC) at Arkansas (13-13, 4-9 SEC)

Where: Bud Walton Arena, Fayetteville, Ark.

When: Saturday, 11 a.m. CT

TV: ESPN2

Series: It dates back to the 1950-51 season, Arkansas holds a 34-27 advantage over Mizzou. The Razorbacks are 15-9 versus the Tigers since Mizzou joined the SEC, and have won seven of the last nine. The Razorbacks own an 19-10 edge in Fayetteville, winning eight of the last nine at home over the Tigers. Missouri's last win in the series was a 79-76 win last season at Mizzou Arena, ending a five-game losing streak to Arkansas.

Last Meeting: Arkansas defeated Missouri, 91-84, in Columbia on Jan. 31. Tamar Bates led the Tigers with 29 points and five steals. For Arkansas, Tramon Mark scored 22 points and Makhi Mitchell, who was celebrating his birthday, recorded a double-double (19 points and 14 rebounds). Keyon Menifield Jr., added 16 points off the bench.

Last Game, Missouri: Sean East II scored 24 points and Noah Carter had 20, but nationally-ranked Tennessee rallied past Mizzou on Tuesday with the No. 5 Volunteers pulling out the 72-67 win. Overall, East leads the team with 16.4 points and 4.3 assists per game.

Last game, Arkansas: The Razorbacks posted a 78-71 win at Texas A&M on Tuesday, ending a two-game losing streak. Tramon Mark led the team with 17.2 points, while Khalif Battle is second with 10.6. Davonte Davis has a team-best 2.0 assists, while Trevon Brazile leads Arkansas with 6.5 boards.

The Issues at the Root of Mizzou Basketball's 12-Game Losing Streak