Auburn was already without Isaac Okoro after it was announced that he would not play after the hamstring injury he suffered against Alabama earlier in the week. Already down a man against Missouri and facing a 13-point deficit at halftime, things got worse when Devan Cambridge was ejected in the second half.
In No. 11 Auburn’s 85-73 loss to Missouri, Auburn could not stop the hot shooting of Missouri as Missouri shot 55% from the field and 54% from 3-point range. While Missouri seemed unable to miss from 3-point range at times, Auburn went 1-of-17 from beyond the arc including a 0-for-10 performance in the first half.
Unlike the previous road losses this season, Auburn shot well in the first half shooting 50% from the field. One of Auburn’s biggest issues in the first half was its tendency to turn the ball over committing eight turnovers which resulted in 10 Missouri points.
After halftime though, things spiraled out of control for Auburn as Cambridge picked up a flagrant two foul and was ejected with around 9 minutes left in the game. Later on Bruce Pearl was assessed a technical foul as well.
The 25 team fouls committed by Auburn are the second most this season behind the 31 in the road loss to Alabama earlier this year. On the evening Missouri went 22-of-29 at the free throw line against Auburn.
Auburn outscored Missouri 41-40 in the second half behind Austin Wiley’s 14 points but overcoming the 13-point halftime deficit with a shorthanded team proved too much for Pearl’s squad.
“I thought we played hard,” Pearl said. “Missouri played really well. They were really good offensively. We weren’t good defensively. Missouri averages in the high 60s. They scored 85 tonight. That was a real issue for us. We had a hard time guarding them."
Auburn was led in scoring by Wiley, finishing the evening with 22 points and 10 rebounds, his 11th double-double of the season. In a game where Auburn needed a full team effort, the bench disappointed with seven points in the entire game and Auburn’s starters combined for 66 of the 73 points on the evening.
Missouri was led by the play of its guards Xavier Pinson and Dru Smith who each had 28 points in the contest. The 28 points are a career high for both the sophomore Pinson and junior transfer Smith.
“Obviously, Isaac is our best defender," Pearl said. "He would’ve had either [Xavier] Pinson or [Dru] Smith. They both went off for 28. We just didn’t get enough from anybody else that can guard.”
Auburn (22-3, 9-3 in SEC) will next travel to Stegman Coliseum to take on Georgia (12-13, 2-10 in SEC) on Wednesday at 6 p.m. CST. Auburn’s loss to Missouri now gives Kentucky sole possession of first place in the SEC at 10-2.
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