COLUMBIA, Mo. • It didn’t matter that Avery Johnson Jr.’s off-balanced jumper had no prayer midway through the second half Tuesday at Mizzou Arena. He didn’t have an Alabama teammate without 10 feet of the ball as it caromed off the rim, where Mizzou’s Mark Smith and K.J. Santos stood waiting for the rebound. Instead, it bounced off both and out of bounds.
A two-game losing streak turned into three with a 70-60 loss to the Crimson Tide. All three losses have come by double-digit margins.
Much like Sunday’s defeat at South Carolina, a 13-point deficit proved too deep for the Tigers (9-6, 0-3 Southeastern Conference) to escape in the second half as Alabama led for more than 35 minutes in front 8,530.