Mizzou falls in first round of NCAA Tournament to Florida State

Going into Friday night, it had been nearly 3,000 days since the last time Mizzou won a NCAA tournament game. That streak continues at least one more year after (8) Mizzou falls to (9) Florida State 67-54.

Mizzou’s 54 points are the second lowest it has scored the entire season.

Kassius Robertson led Mizzou in scoring with 19 points on 6-13 shooting.

Michael Porter Jr. had a double double with 16 points, 11 rebounds and four assists over the course of 28 minutes.

Jontay Porter fouled out with just two points on 1-7 shooting. Jeremiah Tilmon also fouled out after just 12 minutes with two points and two rebounds.Mizzou shot 33 percent from the field and 33 percent from three while Florida State shot 43 percent from the field.

Florida State’s bench outscored a depleted Mizzou bench 40-19.

Kassius Robertson opened the game with a three-pointer on the Tigers first possession. It all went down hill from there. MU started the game on a 7-1 run. Florida State followed with a 11-0 run.

Michael Porter Jr. did not start for the Tigers. He came in with 18:03 to go in the first half. He finished with three first-half points.

Mizzou was down 42-20 at halftime. Mizzou guard Brett Rau had as many points at half as Jontay Porter and Michael Porter Jr. combined. The Tigers made just five field goals in the first half.

Out of the second half, Porter Jr. started things strong with a basket and the foul to double his point total in the course of one possession. The play by Porter helped spark a 10-1 run to draw the score to 43-30 with 17:13 left in the second half.

The Tigers cut the deficit to six with 9:53 to go in the game off a 9-0 run sparked by a three by Robertson. It was the lowest Mizzou had trailed since the Tigers were down 21-16 with 10:26 left in the first half.

The effort was not enough to regain the lead as Florida State answered on a 7-0 run to take a 57-44 lead with just more than nine minutes left in regulation.

Porter Jr. was noticeably tired late in the game due to having to play 28 minutes because both Tilmon and Jontay Porter were in foul trouble.

In the last nine minutes, Florida State pulled away and ended Mizzou’s hopes of advancing in the NCAA tournament.