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Senior Travon Bryant
had the best game of his career but could not prevent Missouri's second loss
in three games.
Bryant and the 11th-ranked Tigers (4-2) look to bounce back when they face Memphis
at The Pyramid on Saturday.
After starting its season with three straight victories, Missouri fell 87-80 to then-No. 17 Gonzaga on Dec. 13. Following a win over North Carolina-Greensboro, the Tigers lost 71-70 to No. 21 Illinois on Tuesday in the annual ``Braggin' Rights'' game.
Bryant scored a career-high 19 points on 8-of-14 from the field, including 3-of-4 from 3-point range. He matched a career best with 12 rebounds and finished with two assists, two blocks and three steals.
The 6-foot-9 power
forward has improved his scoring average to 14.7 points a game this season --
second-best on the team -- from 8.9 points last season. He has also raised his
rebound average to 7.7 per game from 5.8.
Bryant's 68 percent shooting (36-of-53) from the field and 80 percent from behind
the arc (8-of-10) leads the Big 12 Conference.
Missouri, though, was plagued by turnovers against Illinois and struggled from the start, falling behind by as much as 21 points.
The Tigers missed 13 of their first 16 shots and shot 32.3 percent from the field in the first half. They committed 19 turnovers -- slightly above their 17.8 season average -- that were converted into 21 points.
``I think we were a little shell-shocked at the beginning of the game,'' Missouri coach Quin Snyder said. ``I thought we attacked well but we didn't shoot very well.''
Rickey Paulding also had 19 points and senior Arthur Johnson, who leads the team with 15.5 a game, finished with 18 points and 10 rebounds for his second double-double of the season.
The Tigers, however, won the battle on the boards (41-35) for the sixth straight game. Freshman Linas Kleiza provides the edge on the glass with 10 boards per contest and also averages 11.7 points in just 20 minutes per game.
Memphis (6-2) continues a four-game homestand against Missouri, having won the first two, including Monday's 63-62 victory over Samford.
Senior guard Antonio Burkes, who averages 15.5 points and a team-leading 7.9 boards, scored a team-high 20 points.
Sophomore forward Rodney Carney leads four Tigers averaging in double figures with 16.4 points per contest.
Memphis tops Conference USA in 3-point shooting, making nine per game and shooting 40.1 percent. Guard Anthony Rice has hit 16 3-pointers this season, making 42.1 percent of his attempts.
Memphis holds a 6-4 edge in this all-time series, but Missouri has won four of the last six meetings, including a 93-78 victory last season in Columbia, Mo.