Postgame Thoughts: Missouri 77, Arkansas 67

Missouri's Jeremiah Tilmon, left, shoots over Arkansas' Adrio Bailey, right, during the second half of an NCAA college basketball game Saturday, March 3, 2018, in Columbia, Mo. (AP Photo/L.G. Patterson)

Porter impresses

While many of the storylines entering Saturday - including my own - involved the possible return of Michael Porter Jr., Jontay Porter quietly came in fresh off a career night against Vanderbilt earlier in the week.

Jontay's play has been key in Missouri wrapping up an NCAA Tournament berth. The Tigers' win over Arkansas got them in. He, again, was vital, scoring 19 points on 6 of 11 from the floor to go with eight rebounds.

It's the third time in four games he's added at least 17 points.

I came away very impressed with his patience on the offensive end. On a number of Missouri possessions, he caught and took his time making a move either to the rim or in passing out to a teammate. He utilized the pass fake to his advantage several times as well, which warded off potential double teams.

Porter also finished with four assists. He had a great all-around game. Arkansas opted to double him quite a bit Saturday, and he handled it really well. He assisted on three 3s and hit Jeremiah Tilmon - left wide open under the rim - for a dunk as pressure closed on him.

I really like Jontay's game. He bounced back from a five-point effort in the teams' first meeting in a big way.

Gafford strong again

Big-time games are becoming pretty commonplace for Daniel Gafford.

He followed up his best all-around game at Arkansas on Tuesday by leading Arkansas with 16 points on 7 of 10 from the floor, four rebounds and four more blocks. He averaged 18.5 points and 5.5 blocks this week.

Arkansas got off to a pretty good start on Saturday, and he played a role, scoring twice prior to the first media timeout. He was a team-best +2 in his 25 minutes.

Gafford then opened the second half with two dunks and a bucket at the rim, bringing Arkansas back within 45-42. Then, for some reason, the offense stopped going through him and Missouri was able to extend its lead.

Gafford is averaging better than 15 points in Arkansas' last six games entering postseason play. I'd bet that strong play continues next week in St. Louis.

Tilmon's career day

Freshman forward Jeremiah Tilmon was averaging 14.3 points per 40 minutes played in SEC action prior to Saturday.

He reached that mark and more against Arkansas in 28 minutes. Tilmon finished with a career-high 17 points on 5 of 10 shooting to go with eight rebounds.

Tilmon has been susceptible to foul trouble this season, but did a great job on Saturday of playing smart after picking up a foul less than 30 seconds in. Cuonzo Martin didn't like what he saw early on from the freshman and subbed him just two minutes in, but he responded.

Missouri is certainly a team capable of making a run not only in the SEC Tournament next week but in the NCAA Tournament. Martin's club has perimeter shooting in Kassius Robertson, Porter and Jordan Barnett as well as Tilmon and Kevin Puryear on the interior.

Tilmon, though, I think is the x-factor. If he can stay on the floor Missouri becomes a problem.

Jones' injury

C.J. Jones went down awkwardly in the second half favoring his right knee and didn't return.

As well as Jones has been shooting the ball of late, he could have been a factor in the game. He knocked down his first 3 of the night, which made him 6 of his last 7 from distance at the time. It's always a bonus for Mike Anderson when he can get solid production from his bench.

Let's hope Jones' injury isn't significant. You hate to see players on any team go down like that. As best as I could tell, an update on Jones' status wasn't given following the game, so we'll have to see what comes of it. Arkansas would certainly like to have him back next week.

And with Arkansas not playing again until next Thursday, Jones has a few extra days to rest. That could be big.

Next week

Arkansas' loss makes things much, much tougher to reach the SEC Tournament title game for the second consecutive year.

The Razorbacks will enter St. Louis as the No. 6 seed and, on Thursday, face the winner of South Carolina-Ole Miss. Should Arkansas win its first game, another meeting with Florida awaits. The Gators hammered the Hogs in their only meeting this season in Gainesville, and walloped Kentucky on Saturday to close out the regular season.

Arkansas certainly has the firepower to make a run in the league tournament. That's not totally out of the question, but they'll need all hands on deck to do it.