COLUMBIA, Mo. — In more ways than one, the Missouri basketball team that took the floor at Mississippi State on Saturday rarely resembled the squad that won 17 of its first 22 games and toppled four ranked opponents.

The Tigers scored a season-low 52 points in the loss, suffered rare struggles at the free throw line and committed 15 turnovers, more than they’ve had in all but two games this season. Dennis Gates’ team shot 26.1% from 3-point range and wasn’t much better inside the arc, chucking a season-worst 37% on 2-point shots.

But that’s not all that looked different. Gates’ player rotations featured some curious decisions by the first-year MU head coach.

Kobe Brown, D’Moi Hodge and Nick Honor played their typical 30-plus minutes, but there were other changes galore: Sean East II replaced Isiaih Mosley for his start of the season as Mosley played just 16 minutes, his fewest since returning to the lineup last month. Forward Noah Carter started but played just nine minutes. Backup wing DeAndre Gholston led Mizzou with 14 points and four assists, but his 18 minutes marked his second-fewest since late November.

Center Mohamed Diarra played a season-high 23 minutes. Reserve guard Kaleb Brown played nine minutes, his most action since November. Walk-on 7-footer Mabor Majak played for the first time since the season’s third week. Freshman forward Aidan Shaw, a starter for two games in January, never left the bench.

Also, for the fourth straight game, Tigers (17-6, 5-5 Southeastern Conference) played without injured regulars Tre Gomillion (groin) and Ronnie DeGray (sprained knee). Gates said they’re still considered “day to day” heading into Tuesday’s home game against South Carolina (8-15, 1-9). Tip-off is 8 p.m. for the contest to be televised on SEC Network.

Asked Monday about the unique lineups, Gates pushed back on the idea his changes were experiments to learn more about his roster.

“We’re past the learning stage. We know exactly who we are and what we do,” he said. “I think from top to bottom, we’ve seen … everyone has played a significant role throughout the year. It was just a matter of putting it all on that blank canvas. Each opponent, each opportunity, each day, each week presents challenges. And those challenges, whether it’s knick-knack injuries or whatnot … that (leads to) another rotation or another philosophy on what unit is best out there. That’s what we have to always navigate as coaches. That’s ultimately what takes place during this month of February but also leading into March.”

After Missouri’s 63-52 loss Saturday to Mississippi State, Gates said he favored East over Mosley for the starting lineup based on East’s ability to penetrate inside MSU’s defense. Diarra and Majak saw extended minutes to protect Kobe Brown from picking up early fouls inside against all-SEC forward Tolu Smith, the league’s best player at drawing whistles in the paint. Majak, who followed Gates to Mizzou from Cleveland State, had played six minutes this season before Saturdays’ five-minute cameo. He didn’t attempt a shot or pull down a rebound but was called for two fouls.

“Mabor just gave us size. He gave us someone that absorbed some fouls away from Kobe Brown,” Gates said. “Playing against one of the top post players I think not only in the SEC but in the country, (Smith) put guys in foul trouble and I made sure in those first couple of minutes that Kobe was not ever going to be in that situation. Once I saw Mabor be able to hold seals, wedge and be physical but also absorb fouls, it took that pressure away from Mo and took the pressure away from Kobe.”

Kaleb Brown, Kobe’s younger brother, impressed Gates with his second-half stint the prior week at Ole Miss. The staff thought his perimeter defense and passing could pay off at Mississippi State. The sophomore logged two turnovers and a rebound and air-balled a mid-range jumper.

As for Shaw, the team’s only scholarship freshman, this was his second SEC road game in which he did not play. Diarra, now part of the regular frontcourt mix, has taken away some of Shaw’s minutes and given MU much-needed rebounding with 38 over the last five games.

“Aidan is gonna be a great basketball player. He’s in the process of that,” Gates said. “He’s not great right now. He’s a good player. He has to be on the path of development — and on that path of development, understand certain things (like) being in the right spot. That’s the biggest challenge. The other thing is strength. We know he’s not the biggest guy. He’s a guy that’s 6-8, 6-9, but he’s still under 200 pounds. So obviously those are things that happen developmentally, that you hope to see faster, but you can’t speed that process up. I don’t ever want to speed weight gaining up for guys. … The last thing is being able to rebound. Right now he’s rebounding one rebound every six and a half minutes and that’s not acceptable for him. And I’ve talked to him about that.”

With four weeks left in the regular season before the SEC tournament tips off in Nashville, Gates declined to say if he favors a shorter bench and more consistent rotations in the postseason. For now, a veteran team might have to expect the unexpected when it comes to lineup changes and playing time.

“It’s tough for whoever, but it all goes back to being connected as a team and keeping each other happy,” Gholston said. “We know we all came here, we sacrificed and all came here trying to win, get in the (NCAA) Tournament, win the national championship. With things like that, just every day (we) remind each other why we’re here, why we came here and trust in Coach Gates and his rotations.”