3 Takeaways from Mizzou's Loss at Notre Dame

Both Jacob Crews and Mark Mitchell were consistently creating their own scoring opportunities, with Mitchell establishing his physicality by driving inside and Crews getting hot from 3.

The only problem was that those two were often the only thing going for the Missouri offense. Crews scored 22 and Mitchell scored 26, accounting for 68% of Missouri's scoring. Most noticeably, guard Anthony Robinson II only scored six points before fouling out.

That lack of scoring from the rest of the lineup became especially apparent in the second half once Notre Dame's defense had more answers for Crews and Mitchell while the Fighting Irish found its groove offensively. A two-man offensive effort is going to have a tough time keeping up with a much more-complete group in a race through the final minutes.

It was one of the best showings for both Crews and Mitchell respectively, but the offense is going to have to become much more diverse.

No answer for a storm of late 3s

Notre Dame made just 3 of its first 18 3-point attempts, but made the deep shots when it mattered most. Including one to seal the victory.

The Fighting Irish made 4 of their 6 3-point attempts in the final 4:35 of the game. Cole Certa's deep shot to seal the game was mostly uncontested after Crews raced over to double team Markus Burton, Notre Dame's best shooter, wouldn't get the shot off and force the pass to an open Certa. It's valid to question if Burton should've been called for a travel when making the assist to Certa.

But the decision to have Crews double team Burton was a decision head coach Dennis Gates stood by.

3-point defense has been an issue that popped up for Missouri early in non-conference play, with teams that can't match Missouri's height and length inside opting to focus on the perimeter. VMI made 15 of 42 3-point attempts against the Tigers.

Notre Dame was the first opponent to bring the Tigers to the wire and was able to find quick, open looks from 3 to create more late punches.

Falling apart in the middle

This game came down to the final 30 seconds, but Missouri lost a large chunk of the battle by allowing the Fighting Irish to win the middle minutes of the game.

Missouri led 40-28 with 45 seconds remaining in the first half. By the 12:04 mark in the second half, the Tigers trailed 46-53 following 11 unanswered points from Notre Dame.

In that time, Missouri's offense became stunted by fouls and its defense allowed more lanes for true freshman guard Jalen Haralson.

Minutes before the halftime break, Missouri held control by winning in the half court and on the preimeter offensively. Less than 10 minutes of game time later, the Tigers were put in an uphill battle they ultimately couldn't overcome.

Missouri will need to recover quickly, with the Tigers next playing Kansas in Kansas City on Sunday.