Missouri Tigers' March Madness Falter

0:00On March 21st, Missouri's Tigers fell to Miami's hurricanes in the first round of the NCAA tournament, losing 80-66 as the 7-seed. Pulled away late, the 10-seed Tigers from the SEC fought hard in front of a pro-Missouri crowd of nearly 18,000 at the Enterprise Center in St. Louis, but couldn't hold on after grabbing their first lead with about 7 minutes left. The game stayed tight through much of the second half, with Missouri rallying from an early deficit to trail by just one at half time. They even went on a 9-0 run to take the edge, but Miami responded with an 11-0 spurt right after the timeout and never looked. Back, players like Jaden Stone and Mark Mitchell carried the load, score in 21 and 19 points respectively, but the rest of the team struggled. Shooting poorly from the bench, Stone called it heartbreaking, saying the leads slipped away just when they had Miami on the ropes. This loss fits a pattern for Coach Dennis Gates in his four years at Missouri, where teams start strong, but falter in March, now five wins and 15.

1:06Losses that month. They got outscored badly on second chance points and couldn't get enough support beyond their stars. Looking ahead, Gates has five star recruits coming in and the transfer portal opening soon, giving the Tigers a shot to build on their resilience and avoid another early exit next season.