It was a game taht Auburn needed, but the Tigers were unable to overcome a second half where Missouri shot 63.6 percent from the floor as Steven Pearl's squad dropped to the other Tigers, 84-74, in Columbia, Mo., on Wednesday evening.
Both teams played fast in a back-and-forth first half. Auburn briefly led 12–5, but Missouri answered with multiple runs to carry a 38–34 advantage into halftime. Sebastian Williams-Adams led Auburn with nine points on near-perfect 3-of-4 shooting and three rebounds. Off the bench, Filip Jovic was flawless from the field, going 3-for-3 with three rebounds, and Elyjah Freeman added five points in 10 minutes, including a three and a dunk.
Auburn struggled to start the second half, going nearly three minutes without a field goal before Kevin Overton hit back-to-back threes to keep the Tigers close. Despite brief scoring from Overton and Freeman, Missouri’s efficient shooting pushed the lead to 13. Late in the game, Auburn forced turnovers and earned trips to the free-throw line, using a 7-0 run to cut the deficit to six with three minutes remaining, but Missouri closed out the 84–74 win at the line and finished the second half shooting over 60 percent from the field.
Tahaad Pettiford kept silent
Overton finished with 13 points and three threes, while Williams-Adams added 12 points but fouled out late. Keyshawn Hall, despite a rough shooting night, contributed nine rebounds and seven assists, getting to the line consistently. Jovic scored eight points on perfect shooting and grabbed five rebounds, continuing his strong progression off the bench. Freeman added 13 points, while Tahaad Pettiford was silent for most of the night, finishing with nine points on 3-of-12 shooting, including 0-for-5 from three.
Auburn is now 1–3 (12-5 overall) in SEC play and will host South Carolina on Saturday, Jan. 17, at 5 pm CT in Neville Arena.