Missouri Wraps Up Regular Season at Mississippi State

Missouri basketball finally broke through the fog last week, ending its 47-day, 13-game, school-record losing streak with a 64-52 home win over Florida.

The win brought relief for a program desperate to find some traction and positive momentum, and it was admirable that a team having a disastrous season had kept playing hard.

However, last Saturday’s 68-44 shellacking at the hands of Georgia was a strong, probably unnecessary reminder that Missouri (8-21, 2-14 in SEC through Sunday) is still far from competitive in the Southeastern Conference, and that the Florida win, however enjoyable in the moment, doesn’t change the overall narrative of a disappointing season.

It was the Tigers’ second-worst loss of the season, behind only the 49-point loss at mighty Kentucky.

Georgia (19-9, 10-6 in SEC through Sunday) did not have a hot shooting afternoon, but the Bulldogs were plus-17 on rebounds in the game and held Missouri to 28.6 percent shooting, including 23.5 percent on three-pointers.

After Namon Wright poured in 28 points in the win over Florida with an outstanding shooting night, he cooled off against Georgia, going 3-for-8 with 10 points. Sophomore Johnathan Williams III, Missouri’s leading scorer and rebounder, also had 10 points, but that was on 3-for-13 shooting.

Missouri finishes up the regular season this week, and then heads to Nashville for the SEC Tournament. The Tigers will play on Wednesday, March 11 against a to-be-determined opponent.

Missouri’s final regular season game is a winnable one, at Mississippi State on Saturday (5:30 p.m. on SEC Network). The Tigers lost by three to Mississippi State on Feb. 14 at Mizzou Arena.

Mississippi State began the week tied for 11th in the SEC, and the Bulldogs have lost their last six games against teams not named Missouri.

State’s Humphrey Coliseum, nicknamed “The Hump,” can get rowdy sometimes, but it’s certainly not the most intimidating venue in the SEC. Missouri hasn’t won a road SEC game this year, but this one is at least in play.

Junior guard Craig Sword leads Mississippi State in scoring, and junior forward Gavin Ware gives the Bulldogs a solid inside presence.

Combined with the home finale against Auburn, Missouri has some chances to add a few wins in the season’s closing weeks. The Tigers’ first SEC Tournament opponent is still unknown, but it won’t be against a very good team, given the conference tournament matches up its bottom four teams on its opening night. I’m not saying Missouri is going to be racking up the wins over the final three weeks of the season, but they have the Florida win and some other decent chances.

Of course, whether Missouri wins two to three more games or if they go winless the rest of the way, it won’t change the overall season result much. But it would be a positive sign heading into the offseason and recruiting. It wouldn’t be anything dramatic, but the Tigers would take all the positivity they can get.

Editor’s note: Benjamin Herrold grew up in Daviess County and graduated from Gilman City High School. He then graduated from the University of Missouri School of Journalism and now writes as the field editor for Missouri Farmer Today and is based in Columbia. He visits home frequently and owns a farm in Daviess County.