Tigers' Loss to Razorbacks Shows Plenty of Room For Improvement

It was a rough loss for the Tigers on Wednesday, but Dennis Gates is building something special in his first season.

There have been plenty of reasons to be positive about the Missouri Tigers and their scorching start. After all, they entered their matchup with the No. 13 Arkansas Razorbacks at 12-1 (1-0 SEC) and on a three-game win streak. 

To make matters better, the last two wins in that win streak were over Top 25 teams. As such, spirits were high as they hit the road to take on a Razorbacks team that was fresh off an upset loss to LSU. 

That momentum was there once again for the Tigers as they at one point opened up a 17-point first-half lead and appeared ready to cruise to another dominant Top 25 win. 

However, that would not be the case as they saw that lead whittled to a 7-point halftime lead and eventually a 74-68 loss. Despite the loss, though, there is plenty of reason to be positive about what coach Dennis Gates is doing in his first season. 

Sitting at 12-2, and 1-1 in SEC play, the Tigers are still in prime position to be a force in conference play. Of course it the dream is always to go undefeated against your conference but when the SEC is as deep as it is, that is easier said than done. 

Now, though, they must rebound. Literally, they have to rebound better as the Razorbacks demolished the Tigers on the glass by a whopping 40-23 margin. Free throws were also an area of concern, with a 14-of-21 performance from the line being simply not good enough. 

If they can iron out the kinks and continue to improve, this team will only get more dangerous in their first season under Gates. 

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You can find Connor Zimmerlee on Twitter @Connorjz98

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