Kansas followed a dreadful first half with a gutsy showing in the second half, but it wasn’t enough to come back from a 14-point halftime deficit. The Jayhawks lost their second straight road game, falling to Missouri 76-67 on Sunday in Columbia.
The Jayhawks dug themselves a huge hole by committing 15 first-half turnovers. The second half was a different story, turning it over just once. Kansas had a 15-0 run in the cards and eventually cut the deficit to two, but the Tigers managed to hold on.
Hunter Dickinson led the way with a 19-point, 14-rebound double-double. Dajuan Harris and KJ Adams turned things up after a weak first half, and David Coit provided a nice spark as he started in place of AJ Storr.
First half
Kansas’ offense struggled out of the gates as a pair of Kansas natives got going for Missouri. Tamar Bates and Mark Mitchell scored the first nine points, giving the Tigers an early 9-4 lead. The Jayhawks’ offense struggled, missing their first three threes and starting 2/7 from the floor.
Missouri remained in control as Kansas looked awful on the offensive end. The Jayhawks missed shots and turned it over, with the only points coming from a Hunter Dickinson three. He hyped up the Tigers student section, and Missouri then scored four straight, including a breakaway dunk from Aidan Shaw, extending the Tigers’ lead to 15-7 with 12:54 to play.
Turnovers plagued Kansas as the Jayhawks looked flustered in the rowdy Mizzou Arena. Kansas turned it over nine times in the first 12 minutes, leading to eight points for Missouri. Bates drove the Tigers forward with his intensity, scoring seven straight for Missouri as it led 26-17 at the under-eight timeout.
Kansas couldn’t stop turning the ball over, looking completely outmatched by Missouri. The Jayhawks went on over a five-minute scoring drought, turning it over six times in that stretch.
Missouri couldn’t get a lot of things going but went on a 6-0 run based at the free throw line. A layup from Zeke Mayo broke the drought, but the Tigers were in firm control, leading 34-19 with 2:45 to play at the first half.
The Tigers didn’t make a field goal over the last two minutes of the half. Kansas cut somewhat into the lead as Dajuan Harris made a pair of layups. The Jayhawks trailed 39-25 at halftime after committing 15 turnovers leading to 14 Missouri points.
Second half
It was more of the same for Missouri to open the second half. Bates and Mitchell led the way as the Tigers opened up a 20-point lead. Bates intercepted a pass and finished through contact on the other end to make it 50-30, putting the Mizzou Arena crowd into a frenzy.
The Tigers were trending towards a complete blowout after they went on a 6-0 run, but the Jayhawks answered with an 8-0 run to cut the deficit to 57-41 at the under-12 timeout. Kansas held Missouri scoreless for a near three-minute stretch but still faced a major uphill climb.
Kansas continued to apply defensive pressure, forcing Missouri into long possessions that didn’t result in points. The Jayhawks cut the lead to nine after the run extended to 15-0. Kansas’ trio of veterans started to get rolling and David Coit made a three as things started to get tense.
The Jayhawks were gifted opportunities to really close the gap, but they missed a lot of good looks as part of a three-minute scoring drought. Eventually, Coit made a three as he continued to provide a spark defensively. Kansas then scored five straight to be trailing just six, 62-56, at the under-four timeout.
Coit cut it to a one-possession game after hitting a three. Missouri answered at the free throw-line, but Harris countered with an and-one to make it 65-63 with 2:20 to play.
Mark Mitchell hit a huge three from the corner to push the lead to five. After Kansas couldn’t score on the ensuing possession, Josh Gray hit two free throws to make a comeback seem slim.
Tamar Bates finished a layup before Missouri iced the game at the free throw line as Kansas dropped its second straight road game.
