Dennis Gates rewatched Mizzou’s blowout loss to Auburn 5 times. Here’s what he learned

When Missouri men’s basketball last faced off against Texas A&M, it was an abysmal night for the Tigers. MU couldn’t make shots, hitting 35.6% from the field and 22.6% from three-point range.

Missouri lost that one in College Station but will get another crack at the Aggies on Saturday in Mizzou Arena. The Tigers enter fresh off another poor shooting performance at Auburn, a game MU lost 89-56 on Tuesday.

“Our guys have IQs, they understand what went on,” Missouri head coach Dennis Gates said on Friday. “They understand exactly what happened. They have awareness. We just (weren’t) able to get it back on our side, and they got away from us early.”

The Auburn game was even worse for MU. Bruce Pearl had called it the team’s most important game of the season, and his group played like it, battering MU early before Columbia’s Tigers improved marginally in the second half.

Gates joked that he had amnesia from Tuesday’s loss, but he also rewatched the game five times to learn from MU’s mistakes.

“Does that game define us? Absolutely not,” Gates said

Even with the loss Missouri still split a key February road stretch in the SEC. The Tigers beat Tennessee, then the No. 6 team in the nation, on Saturday in Knoxville, on DeAndre Gholston’s miracle buzzer-beater three.

According to Gates, his team could learn something from how the Volunteers came back after that loss.

“We’ve got to recover quick,” Gates said. “What I saw was this: I saw Tennessee beat Alabama, because of maybe our game and the Vandy game. So I saw that, and that’s how you respond. We’ve got to be able to respond a certain way, and throughout the year, teams respond.”

Gates pointed out that, before playing Missouri, Auburn had won just one of its last six games. Then, AU pulled things together and earned the win over Missouri.

MU guard Nick Honor said the loss had stung for his team but anticipated the Tigers pulling themselves out of the funk by Saturday.

“It just wasn’t us,” Honor said. “I’m excited to see us bounce back, for sure.”

The Aggies enter Mizzou Arena at 19-7 on the season and 11-2 in the SEC. They have won their last four games, against Arkansas, LSU, Auburn and Georgia.

If Missouri can get revenge for the first outing against A&M, an 82-64 loss on Jan. 11, the Tigers will improve their odds of getting a double-bye in the SEC tournament. The Aggies are currently second in the SEC standings.

“Texas A&M is a good team,” Honor said. “I know they’re at the top of the league. We feel like we’re at that level as well, so it’ll definitely be an exciting game tomorrow. Any time you get a chance to get some revenge, ... it’d be a good job. So we’re excited.”

For that to happen, Missouri’s shooting would need to improve over the Auburn loss. Honor also cited the team’s energy level in that game as an area that needed to be better.

Gates agreed with the assessment, noting he thought MU was “a step slow” on tape. He also pointed out a stat he has been emphasizing all season: Missouri’s assist-to-turnover ratio.

The Tigers turned it over 16 times against Auburn, compared to 10 assists. MU also lost the turnover battle to Auburn, a key element for Gates’ team, which does not usually get extra possessions on the boards and has to make up for that by being more efficient offensively.

“We did not take care of the basketball,” Gates said. “That offensive stat that stands out is not always shooting percentage, but it is a positive assist-to-turnover ratio. And we spent a lot of time on the defensive end, not being able to protect our basket.”

Missouri and Texas A&M are scheduled to tip off at 5 p.m. at Mizzou Arena. It will be aired on ESPN 2.

The Star has partnered with the Columbia Daily Tribune for coverage of Missouri Tigers athletics.