NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Playing in the Southeastern Conference tournament semifinals for the first time, the No. 25 Missouri Tigers traded blows with top-seeded Alabama on Saturday but fell a day short of cutting down the nets at Bridgestone Arena, losing to the SEC regular-season champions 72-61.
In a rematch of No. 4 Alabama’s 21-point win back on Jan. 21, the Tigers had All-SEC forward Kobe Brown in the lineup this time — he missed the first game with an ankle injury — but it wasn’t enough to overcome the Crimson Tide’s combination of swarming length on defense and offensive firepower.