-They let the moment pass them up. Tamar Bates drew a foul, hit his free throws and cut the lead to 47-44. Another stop and a score or two and Mizzou could've tied it up or taken the lead. Instead, they gave up an 8-2 run. Mizzou wasn't bad by any means in the second half, they just couldn't do enough to make it all the way back. I don't think anyone really thought of this as a winnable game going into it, but given how well they played in certain stretches, it feels like another missed opportunity for the team. A better start at the beginning of both halves could've had them in the driver's seat.
-Sean East continues to have an incredible season. Kentucky has lottery pick guards and East was outplaying them. This season has been turned sideways for the Tigers, but it would be so much worse if East hadn't made the type of leap that he has. That shot to the face he took was pretty gnarly, hopefully it's nothing too serious.
-It was an ugly night for Nick Honor. He had to play big minutes because of Ant Robinson's absence, but you have to wonder if Mizzou would've been better off with anyone else at that spot. His shot was broken, he got cooked on defense and did very little as a playmaker. I completely forgot he was on the floor at times - you really only noticed him when he made mistakes. He was at least making a high clip of 3s early in the season but that's dissipated. In terms of production, I'm just not sure what he brings to the table at this point.
-Aidan Shaw got the memo after a long stretch off the bench. The amount of air he got on those blocks was ridiculous. Gates has plenty of bigs he can go to, so I get giving Shaw a short leash. But Mizzou's defense is on another level when Shaw is playing at his best.
-Once again, given the expectations coming into the game, this wasn't a bad performance by Mizzou. But we've said that more times than I can count. "Good" losses buy them nothing at this point. A "tough out" is still an out. They have to figure out a way to turn some of these performances into victories.
-Sean East continues to have an incredible season. Kentucky has lottery pick guards and East was outplaying them. This season has been turned sideways for the Tigers, but it would be so much worse if East hadn't made the type of leap that he has. That shot to the face he took was pretty gnarly, hopefully it's nothing too serious.
-It was an ugly night for Nick Honor. He had to play big minutes because of Ant Robinson's absence, but you have to wonder if Mizzou would've been better off with anyone else at that spot. His shot was broken, he got cooked on defense and did very little as a playmaker. I completely forgot he was on the floor at times - you really only noticed him when he made mistakes. He was at least making a high clip of 3s early in the season but that's dissipated. In terms of production, I'm just not sure what he brings to the table at this point.
-Aidan Shaw got the memo after a long stretch off the bench. The amount of air he got on those blocks was ridiculous. Gates has plenty of bigs he can go to, so I get giving Shaw a short leash. But Mizzou's defense is on another level when Shaw is playing at his best.
-Once again, given the expectations coming into the game, this wasn't a bad performance by Mizzou. But we've said that more times than I can count. "Good" losses buy them nothing at this point. A "tough out" is still an out. They have to figure out a way to turn some of these performances into victories.
