COLUMBIA, Mo. — When the buzzer sounded at the end of Missouri men’s basketball’s austere 61-53 road loss to Texas on Tuesday night, the second part of the test began.
The No. 22 Tigers had, over the course of the game, succumbed to their worst offensive outing of the year. A season-low 25 points in the first half, then a season-low 53 across the entire 40 minutes. Shooting 31.3% from the field and 18.2% from 3-point range. Only one player with double-digit points — and barely, at that.
Mizzou coach Dennis Gates, speaking at his weekly “Tiger Talk” radio show, likened the contest to tug-of-war, which is an apt metaphor.