COLUMBIA, MO.— Mizzou Men's Basketball dropped a hard-fought matchup to No. 8 Arkansas, 70-64, in the quarterfinals of the SEC Tournament on Friday night in Nashville, Tennessee. Both teams committed 41 combined turnovers and 45 combined fouls in a physical matchup.
Senior forward Jeremiah Tilmon joined the Mizzou 1,000-point club, after notching nine points on the night. Junior Xavier Pinson led the Tigers with 14 points, accompanied by two assists, two boards and a steal. Senior guard Dru Smith posted 11 points, five assists, three steals and a rebound. Sophomore Kobe Brown chipped in six points, 11 boards, three steals, two blocks, and an assist in an all-around effort.
Mizzou was outrebounded by the Razorbacks, 36-31. Arkansas guard JD Notae led all scorers with 27 points, including a game-sealing offensive putback off the glass with 1:19 remaining.
Turning Point
A game of runs saw Mizzou push ahead by 10 in the first half only to see the Razorbacks use a 16-point run to seize the lead back. The Tigers led by one at halftime. Arkansas got up as much as 10 in the second half, but a 7-0 Mizzou run sliced the deficit to 63-60 with 1:49 remaining. On the ensuing possession, Notae picked up a loose ball and got a bank shot to go to put Arkansas up by five. Mizzou wouldn't get within one possession again in the final minute as the Razorbacks held on for victory.
Top Tigers
- Xavier Pinson led the team with 14 points, on 5-for-10 shooting, in addition to two boards, two dimes and a steal.
- Kobe Brown tallied six points, 11 boards, three steals, two blocks and a dime.
- Dru Smith reached double figures for a team-high 20th time this season with 11 points.
Game Notes
- With nine points on the night, Jeremiah Tilmon became the 47th member of Mizzou's 1,000-point club. He is just the sixth Tiger ever with at least 1,000 points, 500 rebounds and 100 blocks, joining Arthur Johnson, Laurence Bowers, Steve Stipanovich, Doug Smith and Jevon Crudup.
- At least nine Tigers found the scoring column for the seventh time this season.
Up Next
Mizzou looks ahead to Selection Sunday on March 14 when it will find out its NCAA Tournament opponent and seeding. The Selection Show on CBS begins at 5 p.m. CT.
