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FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. 鈥� For once, the math caused problems.

The No. 15 Missouri men鈥檚 basketball team is one that can win multiple ways, able to draw on a deep rotation of players as needed to make that happen.

But Saturday night in Arkansas鈥� Bud Walton Arena, multiple systems failed. Mizzou lost to the Razorbacks 92-85, unable to bail itself out through any of the ways it usually can.

From turnovers to free throws, from a cold night for a sharpshooter to a cold, perhaps, for an under-the-weather big man, the recipe that the Tigers have used to put together a special season came out bitter and bland 鈥� full of 鈥渢hings you can鈥檛 do on the road and expect to win,鈥� as MU coach Dennis Gates termed it.

After the loss, which snapped a three-game winning streak and bumped Missouri (20-7 overall, 9-4 Southeastern Conference) down to sixth in the SEC standings, Gates laid out the problematic math like a school teacher.

On his stat sheet of problems:

Mizzou鈥檚 18 turnovers were its most in league play and second-most overall this season. Normally coughing up the ball on only 15% of possessions in SEC games, the Tigers forked it over on 24.7% of their possessions on Saturday.

Those turnovers, of course, limited the offense 鈥� but didn鈥檛 keep it from scoring more against the Hogs than their last three opponents had. The mathematical issue was the degree to which the turnovers fattened up the Razorbacks.

Arkansas scored 30 points off of those 18 turnovers 鈥� 1.67 points per, if you鈥檒l permit a bit more math. MU snagged 16 turnovers from the Hogs but got just 14 points from those 鈥� or 0.88 per turnover.

鈥淭hey were very disruptive in passing lanes and guarding the ball with our point guards coming up,鈥� guard Marques Warrick said. 鈥淲e had a few backcourt-type turnovers.鈥�

鈥淚t was uncharacteristic,鈥� Gates said. 鈥淲hen you go several games of (a decent number of) assists, (very few) turnovers, and then you see what took place at this moment, a lot of it was self-infliction. But (Arkansas) did a good job securing the ball and being able to create those opportunities.鈥�

The math lesson here: Uncharacteristic and costly are not mutually exclusive.

Onto the next problem. For just the sixth time in SEC play, Mizzou鈥檚 opponent went to the free throw line more than MU did. The Tigers now are 2-4 in these situations, which is indicative of how important time at the free-throw line is for Missouri. It can win without it, but the charity stripe helps this particular foundation.

The Razorbacks earned 37 free throws and made 28. MU earned 17 and made 13.

Gates echoed his tone of last year 鈥� and of Arkansas coach John Calipari when these teams met earlier this year to an opposite result in score and free-throw differential 鈥� in trying to blame the whistles without openly criticizing the referees.

鈥淚 cannot control the whistle at all,鈥� Gates said. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 not my job. But I do know Mark Mitchell is very, very good at drawing fouls. And there were a couple that Mark wasn鈥檛 able to draw. It鈥檚 just that simple.鈥�

It鈥檚 worth noting that Mitchell went to the line nine times on Saturday, which is above his average free-throw attempts of 6.4 per SEC game. But that鈥檚 a small detail 鈥� the key math is the overall differential.

Then there was the one player who didn鈥檛 make the bus trip down to Fayetteville 鈥� a plane issue in Columbia forced the Tigers to travel on the ground, not through the air 鈥� and what that subtracted from Missouri.

Josh Gray, the veteran center brought in to be the traditional big man missing from Gates鈥� past Mizzou teams, came down with an illness and was kept at home. As a result, MU turned to a committee of replacements. Freshman forward Marcus Allen entered the game three minutes in, when Gray is usually subbed off the bench. Junior reserve Aidan Shaw received more run than usual. Freshman Peyton Marshall, who has a typical center鈥檚 frame, at least, gave it a go.

鈥淛osh is a very important piece to us,鈥� Gates said. 鈥淥f course we missed him.鈥�

How much did Mizzou miss him? By about 16 points, if you look at how many points in the paint the Hogs scored (44) compared to MU (28).

Turning a premium seating room into a metaphorical classroom for his math talk, Gates chalked the loss up to those three equations that just didn鈥檛 add up.

鈥淲e had 18 turnovers that went to their 30 points,鈥� he said. 鈥淲e shot 17 free throws, made 13. They shot 37 and made 28. That鈥檚 the game, guys. Josh Gray or not, that鈥檚 the game. Our guys got to be able to minimize those mistakes and convert.鈥�

Yet the Tigers were almost saved by another variable 鈥� their X-factor who has come to the rescue at other times this season.

Inside the final minute, Warrick drilled a step-back 3-pointer that cut the Arkansas lead to five with 40 seconds to go. Mizzou needed a defensive miracle to turn that into a real rally, and got it, trapping the Razorbacks into a steal secured by Anthony Robinson II.

Empowered with the ball and a chance to make a shot to climb within one possession, MU shuttled the rock around to give sharpshooting guard Caleb Grill an open 3. But his jumper, left unguarded by a scrambling Arkansas defense, thwocked off the front iron.

Grill, one of the nation鈥檚 best shooters this season, entered the weekend shooting 45.7% from 3 this season. He went 2 for 12 from deep on Saturday, missing his last 10 shots from beyond the arc.

Gates said he considers Grill 3 for 13 because of a foul the guard drew while shooting a 3 early in the game, but that鈥檚 still an off night for the player who has largely dodged those this season. Just add one more to his tally on that late possession and maybe the other math wouldn鈥檛 have mattered.

鈥淭hat鈥檚 the one,鈥� Gates said, 鈥渢hat replays in my mind.鈥�