The worst season for the Missouri men's basketball team in nearly half a century was officially put to rest - out of its misery, if you prefer - on Wednesday at the hands of South Carolina in the first round of the Southeastern Conference tournament. Time of expiration was 10:35 p.m. Realistically, the Tigers' pulse began to fade midway through the second half.
Unlike their last three games away from home, the Tigers showed some fight and chipped away at their second-half deficit. But like most efforts this season, it was never enough. Momentum stalled. And now, the season.
The 63-54 loss to the Gamecocks at Bridgestone Arena ended Mizzou coach Kim Anderson's debut season at 9-23.
"This may sound crazy," said Anderson, whose team never led after scoring the game's first basket. "I was real proud of my guys. I thought we played extremely hard. Obviously, we made too many mistakes at critical times."
"Things were rolling for us," forward Johnathan Williams III said, "but we couldn't make stops in the process of scoring. It just got out of hand."
From the stunning season-opening loss to Missouri-Kansas City to the final flat notes in Music City, Missouri suffered the most single-season losses in team history - a program that began tracking wins and losses in 1906, when there were only 45 states in the Union and Teddy Roosevelt was in the White House. It's the fewest wins for a Missouri season since the 1966-67 team went 3-22. That was also the last time Missouri's football team won more games than MU's basketball team in the same school year - until now.
With the first-round exit, Missouri finishes its season as the only team from the six high-major conferences (ACC, Big Ten, Big 12, Big East, Pac-12, SEC) to win fewer than 10 games. Missouri also went winless (0-14) against Division I teams away from home.
St Louis PD
http://www.stltoday.com/sports/college/mizzou/mizz
Unlike their last three games away from home, the Tigers showed some fight and chipped away at their second-half deficit. But like most efforts this season, it was never enough. Momentum stalled. And now, the season.
The 63-54 loss to the Gamecocks at Bridgestone Arena ended Mizzou coach Kim Anderson's debut season at 9-23.
"This may sound crazy," said Anderson, whose team never led after scoring the game's first basket. "I was real proud of my guys. I thought we played extremely hard. Obviously, we made too many mistakes at critical times."
"Things were rolling for us," forward Johnathan Williams III said, "but we couldn't make stops in the process of scoring. It just got out of hand."
From the stunning season-opening loss to Missouri-Kansas City to the final flat notes in Music City, Missouri suffered the most single-season losses in team history - a program that began tracking wins and losses in 1906, when there were only 45 states in the Union and Teddy Roosevelt was in the White House. It's the fewest wins for a Missouri season since the 1966-67 team went 3-22. That was also the last time Missouri's football team won more games than MU's basketball team in the same school year - until now.
With the first-round exit, Missouri finishes its season as the only team from the six high-major conferences (ACC, Big Ten, Big 12, Big East, Pac-12, SEC) to win fewer than 10 games. Missouri also went winless (0-14) against Division I teams away from home.
St Louis PD
http://www.stltoday.com/sports/college/mizzou/mizz
