COLUMBIA, Mo. — The Missouri men's basketball team’s grueling five-game stretch hasn’t been the quagmire most figured for first-year coach Dennis Gates and his Tigers, now ranked No. 20 after winning three of their last four. Next, the finale in the five-game, 26-day slog — Wednesday’s test at No. 13 Arkansas against a Razorbacks team that’s already been waylaid by injuries.
Arkansas, a trendy preseason Final Four choice, won’t have five-star freshman guard Nick Smith Jr. or sophomore forward and Mizzou transfer Trevon Brazile, who's out for the year with a torn knee ligament.