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The Missouri Tigers were blown out of the water at home on Saturday to the No. 6 Kansas Jayhawks, as a 95-67 blowout gave Mizzou its first loss of the season.

However, the Tigers don't have long to sit around and sulk. The punches will keep on coming, as Mizzou has a brutal four-game stretch to look forward to. Upcoming matchups with the UCF Knights (6-2), No. 17 Illinois Fighting Illini (7-3), No. 16 Kentucky Wildcats (7-2) and No. 9 Arkansas Razorbacks (9-1) combined with Saturday's loss to Kansas is undoubtedly the toughest set of games the Tigers will have all season.

But Mizzou forward Noah Carter, who has emerged as a clear leader for the Tigers this season, is spearheading a forward-thinking mindset for the team as they continue improvement preparations headed into the holidays.

"We don't really lose as a team, we learn," Carter said. "This is a lesson for us, so just regrouping, staying with our brotherhood, just connecting more after this loss and just building from it. That's the most important thing."

In reality, the Tigers have no choice but to move on unless they want to suffer a four-game stumble headed into SEC play.

Mizzou will be faced with what will essentially be a true road environment against UCF, a team that took down a tough Big 12 opponent in Oklahoma State early this season.

The Tigers will come back home to host Illinois, but the Illini have proven to be one of the nation's top teams after taking down the No. 2 Texas Longhorns on Tuesday. The first of two meetings with Kentucky and Arkansas speaks for itself.

With a  9-1 record, there's clearly no reason for panic in Columbia. But quickly picking up the pieces from the Kansas loss is essential for coach Dennis Gates and company.

This article first appeared on Missouri Tigers on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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