COLUMBIA, Mo. — Somehow, the crowd stuck around past halftime.
At that point, the Missouri men’s basketball team was down by 19 points to an Arkansas team that had won just one Southeastern Conference game. A battle to avoid finishing in the conference’s basement had already spiraled into a blowout.
“This is about pride now,” said Mike Kelly, Mizzou’s famed radio play-by-play voice, as the second half began, referencing the rivalry between the Tigers and the Razorbacks.
And right on cue, MU gave up an uncontested — elementary, really — layup to its rivals to trail by 21.