Missouri is 8-19 in close finishes over the last 3 years. Guh.

1. Florida 68, Mizzou 58
2. Ole Miss 91, Mizzou 88
3. Alabama 80, Mizzou 73
4. Georgia 71, Mizzou 56
5. Tennessee 72, Mizzou 45
6. Oklahoma 82, Mizzou 63
7. Auburn 85, Mizzou 79
8. Kentucky 86, Mizzou 37
9. Texas A&M 62, Mizzou 50
10. Alabama 62, Mizzou 49
11. South Carolina 65, Mizzou 60
12. Arkansas 84, Mizzou 69
13. Vanderbilt 76, Mizzou 53
14. Georgia 68, Mizzou 44
15. Mississippi State 52, Mizzou 43
16. Xavier 78, Mizzou 66
17. Arizona 88, Mizzou 52
18. Georgia 77, Mizzou 59
19. South Carolina 81, Mizzou 72
20. Texas A&M 66, Mizzou 53
21. Kentucky 88, Mizzou 54
22. Alabama 80, Mizzou 71
23. Vanderbilt 86, Mizzou 71
24. Arkansas 84, Mizzou 72
25. Ole Miss 85, Mizzou 76
26. LSU 80, Mizzou 71
27. Georgia 71, Mizzou 66
28. Arkansas 92, Mizzou 73
29. Alabama 68, Mizzou 56
30. Mississippi State 89, Mizzou 74
31. Florida 93, Mizzou 54
32. Texas A&M 76, Mizzou 73
33. Tennessee 90, Mizzou 70
34. Ole Miss 80, Mizzou 77

It’s now been 1,126 days since Mizzou won a road game. Even when you’re bad, losing 34 straight games under any circumstance is tough to do with the randomness that rims, officials, and 19-year old males bring to the table. But while there have been plenty of blowouts on the list above, there have been quite a few close losses as well.

Out of curiosity yesterday, I looked at close-game records. Under Kim Anderson, Mizzou is 0-5 on the road in games decided by six or fewer points or overtime; that’s obviously bad, but the Tigers are also 8-14 in such games at home or on neutral courts.

Record in games decided in overtime or by six or fewer points:

• Kim Anderson 8-19
• Frank Haith 18-15
• Mike Anderson 20-25

Haith was easily the best of Mizzou’s last three coaches when it comes to winning tight games. Now, part of this has to do with simply having good teams; Haith’s three years featured the highest level of sustained quality, and Mike Anderson’s close-game record was 6-16 until Mizzou flipped the switch midway through 2008-09. From that point forward, it was 14-9.

The most important aspect for winning close games is having a decent team. Duh. But ... 8-19! That’s pretty remarkable. When Anderson said this on Saturday...

“That’s kind of the story of our season,” Tigers coach Kim Anderson said. “We’ve been close in a lot of games and we just haven’t been able to make that big play at the end, or make the big shot or get the big rebound or whatever.”

...it wasn’t just a “story of our season” thing. It’s been more than one season.

This was intended to more of a marveling thing than a wallowing thing, but Kim Anderson probably has one more chance to win a road game as Missouri’s head coach, and I’d really like it if he won it. Let’s move on to the rest of the Mizzou universe, which had one hell of a weekend.

More Links:

• DOUBLE BYE, BABY. Mizzou Women’s Hoops absorbed a few heavy shots from Alabama but pulled away to win, 65-56, and clinch the No. 3 seed in the SEC Tournament. This time it was Sierra Michaelis leading the way; the senior had 22 points, went 4-for-8 from 3-point range, grabbed eight rebounds (four offensive), and dished three assists. Here’s more from the Post-Dispatch and Missourian.

• If not for the Fightin’ Pingetons, the Fightin’ Biesers would easily be the hottest Mizzou team at the moment. Mizzou Baseball swept the Kleberg Bank College Classic in Corpus Christi. The Tigers handed No. 25 Houston a 4-2 loss on Friday, one-hit A&M-CC on Saturday, then outlasted Illinois in a wacky 7-6 win on Sunday. Mizzou went up 4-0, then Illinois scored six straight, then Mizzou scored three more. TJ Sikkema came on in relief and ended any drama, pitching 4.1 scoreless innings and striking out eight. This team is 7-1 and has won seven in a row while getting almost nothing from Tanner Houck. Just as we all predicted.
• Mizzou Softball: less fortunate. The Tigers aren’t playing badly by any means — they came back from an early deficit to smoke No. 7 Washington, 9-5, on Friday, after all. But they finished up at the Mary Nutter Classic with a pair of frustrating losses: 4-1 to Nebraska and 6-5 to UCSB. Mizzou allowed four runs in the bottom of the seventh to fall to the Gauchos. The Tigers are probably fine and have some kinks to work through, but they’re now 7-5 — can’t wait too much longer to figure things out. And at least they have Amanda Sanchez back now.
• Oh hey look, Karissa Schweizer won a big race. That never happens.
• Oh hey look, Karissa Schweizer then won another big race and then won the SEC’s Cliff Harper Trophy for highest scorer. Greedy, in my opinion.
• Life in the SEC is dumb if you’re an aspiring gymnastics team. Mizzou recorded its sixth-highest score ever and second-best road score ever on Friday night in Gainesville ... and lost to No. 3 Florida. Every damn opponent is in the top five, I swear.
• Mizzou Tennis is 9-2! Holy crap! The Tigers stomped Louisiana Tech in their Saturday home opener. First-year head coach Colt Gaston has not waited long to make an impact.
• PowerMizzou’s spring football primer continues with looks at the defensive end and defensive tackle positions.
• As he likely prepares for his first major coaching decision at Mizzou, Jim Sterk gets the profile treatment from The Missourian.