Missouri basketball dropped its sixth game in a row as it fell to Texas A&M 63-57 on the road in College Station on Tuesday. It was once again a close effort by the Tigers, but in the end it saw Dennis Gates' squad come away winless.

The Tigers (8-11, 0-6 SEC) started out with plenty of momentum, taking an early nine-point lead in the first half. But turnovers, fouls and long scoring droughts proved to be the difference in the Aggies (12-7, 3-3) claiming a six-point win.

Here are three takeaways.

Foul trouble and turnovers plague Missouri basketball

In the first half, Noah Carter fouled Henry Coleman III at the 11:42 mark off a loose ball on an errant pass by Sean East II. It prevented a transition opportunity for the Aggies, but it gave the Tigers their seventh foul – meaning Buzz Williams' squad would shoot free throws the rest of the first half.

Texas A&M, which averaged 16 free throws per game, shot 20 alone in the first half.

This helped the Aggies cut into the Tigers' lead through the first 20 minutes of play. In all, Texas A&M shot 37 free throws, the third straight game where an opponent has attempted 20-plus against MU.

Following Carter’s foul, Jesus Carralero Martin turnover the ball over, resulting in Wade Taylor IV cutting the lead to a single point. Free throws shortly thereafter by Coleman gave Texas A&M its first lead at 14-13.

Missouri uncharacteristically turned the ball over 14 times after just doing so five times against Florida. Off MU's turnovers, the Aggies tallied 21 of their 56 points.

Another shift in the starting lineup

An interesting nugget to take away from the Tigers' defeat in College Station was Gates' decision to change the starting lineup. Throughout conference play, the starting lineup typically included a combination of Aidan Shaw or Connor Vanover, Nick Honor, Carter, East and Tamar Bates.

Against the Aggies, Gates elected to insert both Jordan Butler and Martin in the starting lineup for Carter and Shaw/Vanover. Butler was an intriguing decision in the starting five. It marked the four-star recruit's first start at the collegiate level.

He splashed a 3-pointer to start the second half for his only bucket after tallying four against Florida, but recorded five rebounds and a block with his 7-foot frame.

The inability to close games haunts Missouri once again

Missouri failed to generate any offense to close out its previous five SEC games. How many points did the Tigers score over the final five minutes of play against the Aggies? Just seven.

The Tigers have became one of the worst teams in the nation in the closing minutes of games, and it once again showed.

Missouri cut it one possession behind an East 3-pointer with under four minutes to play, and once again with Bates scoring shortly thereafter, but was never able to tie or take the lead as the Aggies were able to pull away.

Up Next

Missouri will remain on the road as it heads to South Carolina on Saturday. The game will be shown on the SEC Network at 11 a.m..

This article originally appeared on Columbia Daily Tribune: Missouri basketball falls to Texas A&M in SEC play