Missouri had not played a close game in weeks coming into this nationally televised contest on Friday. Its slimmest margin of victory entering the weekend was 28 points, which is how many the Tigers won by a week ago against Vanderbilt.
So it was unfamiliar territory for Missouri (7-5, 4-4 Southeastern Conference) to have to trade scores with Arkansas (4-8, 1-7) for the entirety of its 48-45 win over the Razorbacks. That’s something it had not done since losing to Kentucky, two weeks before the Tigers’ six-game winning streak began.
Mizzou players said they would be ready to face adversity when it hit again.