LEXINGTON, KY. • It wasn’t the never-in-doubt mismatch that quickly unfolded the last two times Mizzou visited Rupp Arena, but with their season trending the wrong direction and their sputtering NCAA Tournament profile needing a late jumpstart, the Tigers didn’t exactly inspire confidence with Saturday’s 87-66 loss, their most lopsided defeat of the season.
Mizzou’s last two visits here in 2015 and 2016 were never competitive, losses by 49 and 34 points, respectively. By that standard, this one was more evenly matched, but the Tigers rarely played with the same grit and polish from their 69-60 win over the same Wildcats three weeks earlier in Columbia.