Missouri Basketball: Takeaways from down-to-the-wire loss against Florida

It is often said that the thing separating the good from the great in SEC basketball is one possession. The Tigers are painfully learning that this year.

Missouri (8-13, 2-6 Southeastern Conference) has now lost its last three home games by three points or less. With only two core returners, this young team is struggling to learn how to win in close games.

Wednesday afternoon’s contest was a must-win for Florida (14-8, 4-5). Sitting in the “last four in” under latest projections, this was not a match where the Gators could afford to make a mistake like they did in early December.

The Gators were indeed able to avoid an upset and keep themselves on the right track for an NCAA bid come next month. However, Missouri Tiger fans shouldn’t let that cloud their judgment of how Wednesday afternoon played out.

After the immensely competitive games we’ve seen recently, it may be difficult to remember the team we were presented with at the beginning of the season. However, this is the same team we saw destroyed by No. 8 Kansas in the renewal of Border War, and fall 80-66 against UMKC on their home court.

So much growth has occurred among the new recruits since then, but that doesn’t mean they’ve figured it all out quite yet. Here are my takeaways from Missouri’s disappointing loss against Florida.