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NASHVILLE, Tenn. — In terms of predictions and seeding, it was the likely outcome. In terms of coaching decisions, it was the sacrificial outcome for the preservation of a bigger dance yet to come. In terms of performance, it was the fair outcome.

Missouri men’s basketball left the Southeastern Conference Tournament Friday after a quarterfinal that saw the No. 7 seed Tigers buried over and over by No. 2 seed Florida.

The Gators put 10 points on the board before Mizzou (22-10, 11-9 SEC) could even squeeze a shot off, then used that lead as leverage to keep MU at arm’s length the rest of the way. Missouri — playing without leading scorer Mark Mitchell, who was held out as a precaution after suffering a right knee injury Thursday — looked lively in the second half but faded in the final minutes en route to a 95-81 loss and tournament elimination.

“Honestly, once they got that 10-0 run, it just kept going and kept going,” point guard Tony Perkins said. “We cut it down. Once we cut it down, they would come up with a shot.”

That about sums it up.

Maybe there’s a lesson in the result — beyond the reality that Florida looks like a team prepared to win so much in March that it plays in April, too.

“We’ve got to punch first,” forward Trent Pierce said. “We can’t let a team come out there and we can’t get in that deficit like that. That really hurt us.”

But this was Missouri’s last loss that can count as any sort of lesson. The next one, which will come in the NCAA Tournament, will mark the end of the season.

The Tigers are seemingly in a better spot to begin the Big Dance than they were upon arrival in Nashville, when they checked a three-game losing streak with their luggage. Mizzou took care of business to grind out a necessary win over 10th-seeded Mississippi State on Thursday.

With the losing skid snapped and the recipe for victory back within MU’s hand, coach Dennis Gates seemed to tap the brakes slightly just before tipoff on Friday.

After Mitchell missed the second half of the win over Mississippi State with a knee injury, Gates held his star forward and offensive focal point out of the next game, too.

Mitchell wanted to play — and could have. Gates thought preservation for the start of the NCAA Tournament next week was more valuable.

“I’m not afraid to make the decision that I need to make for the safety of our student-athletes,” Gates said.

Given that the finish to Mizzou’s SEC Tournament had so much to do with what’s still to come, it seems that this stage of the postseason was not some self-contained quest for a conference title. Sandwiched between the three losses that closed out the regular season and the spectacle of March Madness to come next week, there’s critical context needed when evaluating MU’s performance in the SEC Tournament.

It boils down, really, to this: Did Missouri get what it needed out of the tournament?

Asking that question around the Tigers’ locker room Friday night solicited varying perspectives.

“No,” Pierce said confidently. “Our goal was to win the whole thing. We have the talent to win the whole thing.”

“I feel like it was something left on the table,” Perkins said. “When you’re a team and you went through the kind of season we did this year, you always want to be the team on top.”

Other players had a more positive view.

“It’s good to come to the SEC Tournament and get a win against a good team, Mississippi State,” guard Marques Warrick said. “
 We just needed to get our groove back, get a win on the board. We definitely feel better than when we came in. We’re all looking to build on that in the NCAA Tournament.”

“We got most of what we need,” forward Jacob Crews said. “Obviously, we needed that championship because that’s everybody’s goal at the end of the day. But as far as our lessons learned and understanding what we need to do to go forward, absolutely: I think we’re definitely going to go in (to the NCAA Tournament) rolling.”

Then there was nuance — which has come with MU’s recent skid, too.

“Yes,” guard Caleb Grill said when asked, before pausing. “But no. I mean, we came here to win the thing, but we also wanted to get back to playing the way that we have been — and I feel like we did do that. It’s a 50-50 thing. But no moral victories. We don’t believe in that. I don’t believe in that.”

Presented with the question at his postgame news conference, Gates needed a few seconds to chew it over in his mind before answering.

“Did we get what we needed to?” he said, reciting back the Post-Dispatch’s line of questioning. “We did not get the trophy. We don’t get the opportunity to raise a banner. Our season 3A (the team’s way of referring to the conference tournament) ends early. We wanted to be here, playing on Sunday, and we’re not. So we did not accomplish a goal. But as it relates to the silver lining, we’ll see what it does. But I do know we were able to win a game (Thursday) against a tough, NCAA Tournament team, and today we played a game without an all-conference player (Mitchell). I thought we did pretty well.”

He brought up performances he liked from depth players like Aidan Shaw and core players like Perkins and guard Tamar Bates. Gates seemed pleased with how the Tigers handled a neutral-site environment, which is all that’s on the docket the rest of the way.

And then he brought up the reality of that question, which is that there isn’t a correct answer — because it’s hard for Missouri to know.

“We’ll be able to answer that question when our season is over,” Gates said. “And hopefully, it’s not over anytime soon.”