By SCOTT FELTS
The 22nd-ranked Tennessee Volunteers, fresh off re-entering the AP Top 25, may not stay there long. The Vols (20-8, 10-5) dropped a 73-69 game at Missouri (18-9, 9-6) Tuesday night. Previous issues like turnovers and missed foul shots came back to plague the Vols once again. The win was Missouri’s third out of four home games against ranked opponents this season.
Let’s look Beyond The Box Score at how Tennessee let this one slip away.
Game Flow: Tennessee started the game on a 10-2 run and led 14-4 seven minutes into the game despite Ja’Kobi Gillespie going 0-for-4 from 3-point range. The Vols took plenty of 3s — 24 of them — likely due to Missouri center Trent Burns who towers at 7’5” and takes up space under the basket with his 260-pound frame.
Tennessee led 29-26 at the half but turnovers by the Vols and made 3s by the Tigers helped Mizzou lead by as many as eight midway through the second frame. Missouri made four of its final seven attempts from 3. build as much as an eight-point lead midway through the half. With 16:25 remaining the Tigers made their first three in 11 attempts and finished the game making four of their last sevem. Down the stretch Missouri’s defense made the difference holding the Vols to 2 of 5 shooting on their last six possessions and turning Gillespie over with ten seconds remaining to seal the victory.
Two Headed Monster: T.O. Barrett had a career-high 28 points for Mizzou, 12 of them coming in the first half. Meanwhile, Mark Mitchell, the Tigers’ leading scorer on the season contributed 23 points. Barrett also totaled five boards and two assists while Mitchell had three boards and two dimes.
Okpara Plays Big: The Tigers’ massive center Burns got outplayed by Tennessee’s Felix Okpara, especially in the second half. Okpara scored 11 straight points for the Vols to open the frame. He finished with 15 points on a perfect 7-for-7 shooting night with eight rebounds.
Estrella Returns … Kind of: Tennessee forward J.P. Estrella returned to the lineup after a two-game absence for a left foot injury. He came in averaging 9.7 points and 5.2 rebounds per per game on the season. Before his injury, he was moved into the starting lineup for seven games, averaging 11.7 points and seven rebounds in that role. Estrella entered against Mizzou at the 13:32 mark and played four first half minutes grabbing one rebound and missing both shots he took. He logged just two minutes and one missed field goal in the second half.
Freebies Not Free: The Vols came in ranked ninth in the SEC and 59th in the country in free throws made per game. Tennessee went just 8 of 14 against Missouri, attempting fewer free throws than the Tigers (17 of 22) made. Tuesday’s performance dropped the Vols season percentage on free throws from 75% down to 71.5% (73-102).
Up Next: On Saturday, the Vols return home to host 17th ranked Alabama (20-7, 10-4) at 6 PM from Food City Center. Tennessee beat the Crimson Tide on January 24th at Alabama, 79-73. Alabama hosts Mississippi State Wednesday the 25th at 9 PM.
Tip Ins: The Vols finished at 43% shooting while the Tigers ballooned to 47% for the game. … Tennessee is now 12-7 in it’s last 19 games against Missouri, including 7-4 in the past 11 and saw a five-game winning streak at Missouri snapped. … The past five games between the Vols and Tigers have been decided by 22 total points, four of those within five points. … Tennessee has 20 wins for the 32nd time in school history and seventh time in the last nine seasons. … The Vols are still seeking 21–plus wins for the fifth straight season which they have done once before (2005-06 to 2009-10). … Four Vols scored in double figures: Okpara (15), Nate Ament (17), Gillespie (19) and Bishop Boswell (13). … Only one other Vol scored at all and that was DeWayne Brown with five points.