Tigers fail against another ranked team

COLUMBIA, Mo. (AP) -- Quin Snyder is still waiting for that breakthrough game. Missouri has exceeded expectations in Snyder's rookie season as a head coach, sitting fourth in the Big 12 despite an

Tuesday, February 22nd 2000, 12:00 am

By: News On 6

COLUMBIA, Mo. (AP) -- Quin Snyder is still waiting for that breakthrough game. Missouri has exceeded expectations in Snyder's rookie season as a head coach, sitting fourth in the Big 12 despite an undersized lineup. But the Tigers are 0-for-3 at home this month against ranked teams from the conference, with nothing to show for three solid efforts. "We're trying to be our best every game out," Snyder said after the Tigers' rally from a 20-point deficit fell just short in an 84-72 loss to No. 10 Oklahoma State Monday night. "If the barometer for us is some of those teams, we're not quite there yet."

Missouri (16-9, 9-4) has lost five of seven games against ranked opponents, but the Tigers have at least gone down fighting. They led the majority of the game against then-No. 18 Texas Feb. 12,putting the clamps on 7-foot Chris Mihm, before losing by three. A 72-62 loss to then-No. 17 Iowa State three days earlier could have gone either way. "We're knocking on the door and it's open for us," guard Clarence Gilbert said. "We've just got to be willing to take that step and go in."

The Oklahoma State game appeared to be a lost cause considering the Tigers trailed 61-41 with eight minutes to go. It at least illustrated that there's no quit in the team. Missouri still trailed by 14 with 2:30 to go before rallying with a flurry of five 3-pointers that cut the gap to four points in the final minute.

Missouri put a scare into the Cowboys despite shooting only 34 percent, their worst showing in conference play. Snyder said he was "unbelievably proud" of his players. "To give everything we have for 40 minutes every night, it's something you can count on," guard Brian Grawer said. "If you play that hard, you're going to get some breaks sooner or later."

Snyder said that kind of attitude and work ethic should eventually be rewarded. "I think we're closer to being there than we were in January, and we were closer in January than we were in December," Snyder said. "Who's to say what we can take from this? Maybe at some point, everything clicks for us."

Oklahoma State helped keep Missouri down by controlling freshman sensation Kareem Rush. After totaling 50 points in two games last week, the 6-6 Rush was held to 13, largely by the defensive work of Desmond Mason. "They did a great job of scouting us," said Rush, who had a career-high 31 points at Texas Tech last week. "They knew everything we were doing, and they were there before we even made our cuts. "It took us out of our stuff, so we had to resort to playing one-on-one, which is not our strength."

Win or lose in the big ones, Missouri should have no worries about the NCAA tournament. The Tigers have victories over ranked opponents Illinois and Kansas and a high RPI rating (No. 30) and their schedule is rated the 28th-toughest in the country. "They'll see what great competition we've played, and we've been in every single game," Rush said. "We've done a lot of great things this year.

"Notes: The last time Missouri lost three in a row at the Hearnes Center was 1992-93. That season, Kansas, Nebraska and Oklahoma prevailed by a total of six points. ... Snyder can tie the school record for victories by a first-year Missouri coach Saturday at Oklahoma.

Walter Meanwell was 17-1 in 1917-18, winning the Missouri Valley Conference, and Craig Ruby matched that record and also won the Valley in 1920-21. ... Missouri ended up 10-for-32 from 3-point range against Oklahoma State, adding to its school record. The Tigers have made 241 in 25 games, best in the Big 12 and better than their previous mark of 214 in 1997-98. They've attempted a school-record 635, topping the previous record of 580 in 1997-98.