Amidst a rocking Neville Arena, Mizzou basketball’s first SEC contest went about as expected. Against No. 2 Auburn, Johni Broome & Co. dominated from start to finish, handing MU an 84-68 loss in which the home Tigers led by as much as 26 points.
However, the road Tigers could take solace in a couple of things. One is that Auburn is likely a machine that seems primed for a deep NCAA Tournament run, and it’s arguable that Bruce Pearl’s team played incredibly more than Mizzou played poorly. Plus, the Black & Gold weren’t the only SEC team to end up on the losing end of a blowout that day; Arkansas, Oklahoma, South Carolina and Texas each lost by at least 20 points.