Farewell, Jordan Geist. And farewell, Kevin Puryear.
Despite a second consecutive herculean performance from Geist, Missouri (15-17, 5-13 SEC) lost to No. 22 Auburn (23-9, 11-7 SEC) 81-71 in the second round of the SEC Tournament on Thursday in Nashville, Tennessee. The other Tigers will face South Carolina in Friday’s quarterfinals.
The loss stings, but this MU performance was miles better than the first go-round against AU. Missouri suffered the worst loss of the Cuonzo Martin era, 92-58, when these teams squared off at Auburn on Jan. 30. MU committed 20 total turnovers and was outscored 58-27 in the second half.