Mizzou falls at Vanderbilt, SEC skid swells to nine straight games

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (KMIZ)

Mizzou Men's Basketball tied its worst start to conference play in its SEC era on Saturday afternoon, losing to Vanderbilt 68-61 in the Music City. The Tigers have now dropped their first nine conference games, becoming the first Mizzou team since the 2016-2017 season to start SEC play 0-9.

After starting the game on a 9-2 scoring run, Mizzou built a lead as large as 11 points in the first half. However, a scoring drought that lasted more than six minutes allowed Vanderbilt to cut its deficit to 20-19 and eventually take their first lead at the 4:53-mark before the break. The Tigers held the lead for more than 14 minutes in the first half but did not lead in the second half.

A three-pointer from Nick Honor allowed Mizzou to pull within three points of the lead with 13 seconds left. However, the Tigers did not hit another shot, and the Commodores sealed their first conference win from the charity stripe.

Noah Carter posted a team-leading 20-point performance and also grabbed six rebounds. Honor and Tamar Bates were the only other Tigers to score in double figures. Bates scored 17 points while Honor finished with 11 points. As a team, Mizzou only scored four points off the bench.

Dennis Gates' crew finished the game shooting 37.3% from the field and 26.9% from three-point range. Vanderbilt out-rebounded Mizzou 42-31 on its home court.

Up next - Mizzou tips off a two-game homestand starting on Wednesday. The Tigers will host Texas A&M at Mizzou Arena on Feb. 7 at 8 p.m.