FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. -- Mizzou coach Dennis Gates dissected the loss neatly.
Turnovers. Free throw attempts.
A cursory glance at the box score indicates he's right. No. 16/15-ranked Tigers scored 16 fewer points off turnovers and shot 20 fewer free throws than Arkansas in a 92-85 loss Saturday at Bud Walton Arena.
"That's the game, guys," Gates said postgame.
Losses happen. Especially on the road. And, as Gates also said postgame, this was a "self-inflicted" one in many ways.
But what the Razorbacks did to end Mizzou's three-game winning streak showed a glimmer of vulnerability -- a rare look for a team that drew a sudden swath of national attention for dicing up Alabama to the tune of 110 points on Wednesday back in Columbia.
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What Arkansas did, as John Calipari's team revived its NCAA Tournament ambitions, was deliver a healthy dose of teach tape on how to swarm and swat the surging Tigers.
Look at how the Razorbacks shot 20 more free throws than Mizzou to score 15 extra points from the line.
Sure, the Razorbacks benefited greatly from a 2-of-12 day from 3-point range for Caleb Grill, who didn't score in the second half. Yes, it helped that Missouri went 4-of-17 from that range in the second half.
But that appeared to be by design. Missouri has thrived by being multiple in recent weeks. The Tigers can burn you outside, and when they're at their best they can burn you inside.
The Razorbacks essentially made MU's offense one-dimensional by taking away lanes to the rim, as Mizzou went 8-of-16 shooting layups and were outscored in the paint 44-28. Arkansas limited a major piece of what has made the Tigers tick, and MU failed to supplant that with sustained production behind the arc.
"At the end of the day," Gates said. "We settled for those 3s because we were not getting what we wanted at the rim with those fouls."
Gates pointed out postgame that Arkansas drew 26 fouls and Mizzou drew 18. A difference of eight whistles resulted in 20 extra free throws. That's quite the disparity, but also speaks to how the Hogs attacked MU and vice versa.
"I cannot control the whistle at all," Gates said. "That's not my job. But I do know Mark Mitchell is very, very good at drawing fouls, and there were a couple that Mark wasn't able to draw. And it's just that simple. They did a great job. Arkansas did a great job."
UA's offensive plan, as Missouri played without pivotal and primary center Josh Gray due to an illness, was to drive straight at the smaller-than-usual Tigers.
"Josh is a very important piece to us," Gates said. ... "When you look at his experience, his size, his ability to protect the paint, ball-screen defense, different things like that -- he kind of relieves us in that manner. Of course we missed him."
Without the 7 foot, 260-pound big man playing defense, Arkansas thrived. Big man Zvonimir Ivisic was 6-of-8 from the field for 20 points. Forwards Karter Knox and Adou Thiero combined for another 25. UA guards Johnell Davis and DJ Wagner has easy-access driving lanes and put up 18 and 17 points, respectively.
The Razorbacks shot 65.7% from inside the arc -- a sharp uptick. According to CBB Analytics, Mizzou has averaged a 48.2% rate of 2-point field goals this season.
"They just put their head down and go," MU guard Marques Warrick said. "When they see one lane, it's just 'go.' I think that was one of their game plans coming in -- try to drive at us, go downhill, and then even in the half court. So, we let them get out in transition, especially off turnovers. We gave a lot of points up on turnovers."
That was the other part of Gates' post-mortem: Giveaways.
It's an uncharacteristic lapse for Mizzou. The Tigers had 11 combined turnovers in their past two games. They gave Arkansas possession 18 times -- the most of any of their SEC games to date.
The Razorbacks swarmed at the rim and forced multiple giveaways on wayward passes. Calipari's team pressed for most of the evening, and got the Tigers to make mistakes in the backcourt, too.
"A lot of it was self-infliction," Gates said, "but (Arkansas) did a good job securing the reach, securing the ball and being able to create those opportunities."
When you put it all together, it's the recipe on how to beat Mizzou. Not many other teams have found that formula.
Arkansas found some vulnerability. It saved the Hogs' own NCAA Tournament hide, and put a dent in the Tigers' quest for a double-bye in the SEC Tournament.
Mizzou is now tied for fourth in the conference standings with Texas A&M and Tennessee, both of which hold a tiebreaker over the Tigers.
Missouri turns and faces South Carolina, which just claimed its first win in SEC play this weekend, on Tuesday back at Mizzou Arena. That's a prime opportunity for Gates' team to get right, but the Tigers have shortcomings to mend.
"We played well, but we turned the ball over," Gates said. "We had 18 turnovers that went to their 30 points. We shot 17 free throws, made 13. They shot 37 and made 28. That's the game, guys. Josh Gray or not, that's the game.
"And our guys have got to be able to minimize those mistakes and convert how we convert."