Tigers fall flat in return to NCAA Tournament, ousted by Florida State

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BRANSON MO NEWS: NASHVILLE, Tenn. — The roller-coaster season ended just before midnight, in a half-full Bridgestone Arena, against a long and fast Florida State team that grabbed an early lead and never let it go.The Seminoles (21-11), seeded ninth in the NCAA Tournament’s West Region, downed Missouri 67-54 in a game that, much like the Tigers’ season, provided plenty of ups and downs — and resilience for a Missouri team that trailed by 22 at halftime.”Resiliency would be the key word if you had to explain this team,” Jontay Porter said after the loss, which marked Missouri’s fifth straight in the tournament, a run that dates back to the Tigers’ 2010 defeat at the hands of West Virginia in the second round.

Resilience is a theme that’s been constant all season for Missouri, which ended a pair of three-game losing streaks with wins on the road. When the going got tough, it seemed, the Tigers always bounced back. Missouri (20-13), however, was on the other end of a bounce-back, when, after taking a 7-1 lead, it gave up an 11-0 run that set the tone for Florida State’s dominant first half. The ninth-seeded team scored in transition and blocked shots and disrupted an already struggling Missouri offense.”We’ve got to pass the ball!” coach Cuonzo Martin yelled in frustration after a Missouri turnover midway through the half.The Tigers also needed to stay out of foul trouble, a lesson learned in Missouri’s 62-60 loss to Georgia in the SEC Tournament. Fouls again became an issue for a Missouri team down to eight healthy players, seven of which are on scholarship.Freshman Jeremiah Tilmon committed two fouls within six minutes of play, and when Porter committed his third, with 38 seconds to play in the opening half, he strutted back to the bench emotionless and threw …



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