COLUMBIA, Mo. _ Cuonzo Martin's 200th win as a head coach will have to wait.
Numerous turnovers, miscommunication, foul trouble and poor offense caused Missouri to miss a big home win over No. 19 Auburn on Wednesday, with Martin's squad falling 91-73.
Auburn came into Wednesday's game known for its 3-point and free-throw shooting and backed up the numbers, shooting 45 percent from deep and 88 percent from the free-throw line.
Missouri's offense was poor from the start. The Tigers started 1 for 7 from inside the paint, with all six misses being blocked by Auburn. The 3-point shooting Missouri relies so heavily on had its tough start, with the team going 3 for 10.
Despite coming in with a size advantage on Auburn, Missouri freshman Jeremiah Tilmon got into his usual bout of foul trouble, leaving senior Jordan Barnett to carry the offense. Barnett scored 12 of Missouri's first 18 points, with all of his baskets coming on 3s.
Junior point guard Jordan Geist helped contribute on offense, scoring 10 points in the first half, while graduate transfer Kassius Robertson and freshman Jontay Porter struggled to put points on the board.
MU's tactless fouls helped give Auburn easy points, since the team usually shoots around 80 percent from the free-throw line, which ranks in the top 10 nationally. The visiting Tigers shot 90 percent from the line in the first half, and got huge baskets from the team's three-headed guard attack of Jared Harper, Bryce Brown and Mustapha Heron.
Missouri dug itself a deeper hole with multiple offensive possessions in which a player threw the ball away or had a careless turnover. MU's size advantage came in handy on the boards as it had a 28-15 rebounding advantage in the first half that helped give the team the extra opportunities it needed on offense.
A late 3 from Porter sent Missouri into halftime down 41-36.
Martin's squad came out of halftime with similar problems when Tilmon quickly picked up two more fouls, which sent him back to the bench, and Missouri threw away a few more possessions on offense.
Barnett and Robertson led an 8-0 run over a 90-second span to get the deficit down to a single point with 14:22 left in the second half. Robertson led MU with 21 points and Barnett added 19.
Missouri kept the deficit within single-digits for about 3 minutes, until Geist threw away a pass, which took away the Tigers momentum.
Auburn responded with a 20-2 run that took Missouri out of the game for good. Mizzou was suddenly down 20 points with 7:33 left. Harper, Heron and Davion Mitchell hit shots from all over the floor to hammer the final nail in Missouri's coffin.
The Tigers wouldn't come within striking distance for the rest of the game as the team dropped its second consecutive game for the first time this season.
Harper led Auburn with 17 points in the win and was one of five players in double-figures.
