Mizzou’s second-half comeback came up short at Mizzou Arena, losing 66-58 to fourth-ranked Kentucky, on Tuesday night. On a night they retired old number 3 Derrick Chevious’ number, the current number 3, redshirt junior guard Ronnie Suggs posted a season-high 13 points and hit three three-pointers to lead the Tigers in the second half.
“Ronnie’s issue before was always Ronnie believing in Ronnie,” Martin said. “There wasn’t any question whether he could play. He showcased that tonight.”
Mizzou managed to win both the turnover and rebounding battles, committing just 12 turnovers to Kentucky’s 14 and outrebounding the Wildcats by a margin of 34-28, including 16-6 on the offensive glass, but the Tigers found themselves down by as many as 20 and in the second-half John Calipari wanted his team to milk the clock and run down the shot clock.
Mizzou travels to Gainesville, Fla., to take on Florida on Saturday afternoon at 3 p.m.