12th ranked Mizzou had its three-game winning streak snapped with an 88-82 loss at Auburn. Jeremiah Tilmon and Dru Smith each scored 21 points for Mizzou, which drops to 10-and-3 overall and 4-and-3 in the SEC. Missouri hosts TCU Saturday in the SEC/Big 12 Challenge.
Auburn’s Sharife Cooper, a five-star freshman was the difference. He overcame foul trouble and posted a near triple-double to help Auburn. Mizzou took exception to the disparity of foul calls. Auburn went to the foul line 44 times and was in the double bonus in the second half with over ten minutes to play. Cooper himself was at the line for nearly half Auburn’s attempts going 18-for-21.
When Cooper wasn’t on the floor, Mizzou took advantage. Mizzou trailed by as many as 14 in the first half after getting off to a sluggish start and were trailing 32-24 with just over five minutes to play when Cooper picked up his third foul. Mizzou outscored Auburn 21-5 with Cooper on the bench into the second half to take a 45-41 lead. Mizzou built a seven-point lead, but Auburn used a 7-0 run to tie the game and outscored Mizzou 33-19 over a 12-minute stretch of the second half.
Jeremiah Tilmon had a career high six blocks on the night, he tied Gary Leonard for 8th on the Mizzou all-time career blocks list with 95. He has 14 blocks over the last four games combined. He struggled from the free throw line, going just 3-of-11. The Tigers were 18-of-27 from the line and only made 53.5% of their attempts in the second half.
Tilmon and reigning SEC player of the week Dru Smith led Mizzou with 21 points each. Cooper led Auburn with 28 points, eight rebounds and seven assists.
