COLUMBIA, Missouri — Iowa State knew its first game with Missouri since 2012 wouldn’t be an easy one. But the 74-59 loss was uglier than it probably should have been.

The talk going into the game was about Missouri’s star power. With one of the top 2017 recruits — Michael Porter Jr. — and a number of other highly-touted freshmen, Missouri had the buzz.

In the end, however, Porter Jr. wasn’t needed.

He played the first 100 seconds in his collegiate debut, then watched the rest of the game from the sidelines. That didn’t help Iowa State.

“Those are the games you want to play in,” said coach Steve Prohm. “I’m glad we played this game right out of the gate just because we needed to know where we’re at as a basketball team and the adjustments we have to make and the things we have to really focus on.”

The starting backcourt trio of Lindell Wigginton, Nick Weiler-Babb and Donovan Jackson combined to start 0-for-13 from the floor until Wigginton hit a 3-pointer with 2:32 to go in the first half.

That was the theme for the Cyclones: missed shots and poor execution.

“The main thing was that I saw we were struggling offensively,” Weiler-Babb said. “Offense doesn’t really matter when we’re not getting stops.”

The Cyclones shot just 10-for-32 (31 percent) from the floor in the first half and scored only 25 points. Missouri, on the other hand, hit over 50 percent of its shots in the half, along with an advantage in made 3-pointers and free throws.

Missouri took a 39-25 lead into the half. The second half wasn’t much better.

Weiler-Babb scored the first seven points of the half for Iowa State after being shut out in the first half, but it wasn’t enough. Iowa State couldn’t get stops when the offense picked up steam.

Thanks to a 3-pointer and a layup, both from Wigginton within the span of less than 20 seconds, Iowa State cut the deficit to eight with just under 16 minutes left. That was as close as the game got in the second half.

“That’s why you play these games early and that’s why it’s a good measuring stick, especially being on the road,” Prohm said. “We had chances, we got it to 10 or eight and we couldn’t … you’ve got to execute offensively and then you can’t give that little stretch where they went on an 8-0 run to go from 10 to 18.”

One of the few positives for Iowa State in the loss was Zoran Talley Jr., a backup forward. Talley Jr. finished second on the team with 11 points and was one of two Cyclones, along with Weiler-Babb, to shoot 50 percent or better from the floor.

“Playing Mizzou, it was a great atmosphere,” Talley Jr. said of his Cyclone debut. “I just wanted to come out here and play my hardest, get the W. Didn’t get that, but after we get back to Ames, Iowa, we’re going to watch film, work on everything that we have to work on and improve with the progress of the team.”

A 3-point barrage extended the Tiger lead to 22 with under four minutes to go. Jackson finally got on the board with a 3-pointer, putting him at 1-for-8 from the floor. He hit another one with just over 90 seconds remaining, but it was too little, too late.

“I’ve got to do a good job trying to get him free more and try to get him some good looks,” Prohm said. “We started him on the ball and Nick started doing a good job in his stretch when he was on at the one so we kept Nick [Weiler-Babb] at the one. He had nine shots, but we’ve got to get him more involved and we have to have him scoring for us.”

In the end, however, Iowa State knew this was a possibility. Missouri has a lot of talent even when Porter Jr. can’t play, and that showed Friday night as the Tigers hit 27-of-51 shots (53 percent) of their field goals, including 10-of-23 (43.5 percent) from beyond the 3-point line.

With both Hans Brase and Cameron Lard sitting out, the Cyclones have some weapons who should make their debuts soon. Until then, there’s plenty to work on for Iowa State.

“[We’re] a work in progress,” Prohm said. “I’m so glad we played this game. Both teams, you talk to Coach [Cuonzo] Martin when he comes in here I bet he’ll say the exact same thing. Win or lose, you play these games and then you look 25 games into the season the team that lost tonight may be doing a lot better than the team that won.

“You never know. I’m not talking about us two teams individually; I’m just talking about college basketball. That’s why you play these games early and that’s why it’s a good measuring stick.”