After each Mizzou basketball game this season, we will highlight a few notable takeaways from the performance in the ‘And-One.’
Three Things We Learned
The rotation is in focus early in the season. Martin talked about playing eight or nine guys. We’re two games in and it’s obvious who those nine are. The Tigers have started Dru Smith, Mark Smith, Kobe Brown, Javon Pickett and Jeremiah Tilmon in both games. It’s hard to see that changing. Xavier Pinson and Torrence Watson get minutes off the bench in the backcourt and Mitchell Smith and Tray Jackson are the backup forwards. Other than those nine, only Parker Braun saw the floor and that didn’t happen until less than two minutes remained. Cuonzo Martin has subbed frequently in his first two seasons and often had to shuffle lineups due to injury. This is the earliest we’ve been able to identify a set rotation in his three seasons.
Xavier Pinson looks like Mizzou’s most improved player. After a strong opener in which he scored 15 points off the bench, Pinson handed out six assists and committed only one turnover against the Northern Kentucky zone. Pinson showed a lot of promise as a freshman, but often played out of control and yo-yo’ed in and out of the rotation. Tuesday night’s game at Xavier will be a test, but the early returns on Pinson’s sophomore campaign are very promising.
Mark Smith is turning into more than a shooter. Yes, he made four three-pointers against Northern Kentucky. We knew Smith could shoot. He was hitting 45% from deep when he got hurt last year. But what we hadn't really seen is a consistent dedication to getting inside the three-point line. He and Pinson were the two Tigers who were getting in the paint in the first half. Smith had a couple of layups to go with his long-range bombing. If defenders have to respect his ability to go by them on the dribble, Smith might lead the Tigers in scoring by a pretty wide margin.
Game at a Glance
CAUSE FOR OPTIMISM: Missouri beat an NCAA Tournament team with one of its best players (Dru Smith) having an off night. The Norse probably won’t catch the attention of a lot of casual fans, but this was an NCAA Tournament team that brought back most of its pieces. Missouri beat that team by 15 and led by 22 in the middle of the second half.
CAUSE FOR CONCERN: There’s not a lot here. If anything, perhaps the zone slowed Mizzou a little more than you’d like at the beginning of the game and the Tigers took a little too long to run things through Jeremiah Tilmon consistently on offense. But that’s nitpicking, especially for the second game of the season and one for which Mizzou had very little time to prepare or game plan.
STOCK UP: Mitchell Smith. You’re going to wait to see it consistently, but Smith had a career-high ten points and led the team with seven rebounds. He gave Martin another option in the front court and gave the Tigers a jolt of energy with good minutes late in the first half.
STOCK DOWN: Torrence Watson. The sophomore missed all four of his shots and played only 11 minutes. The Tiger backcourt is crowded and minutes will change on a regular basis. Watson will have better nights, but this one wasn’t his best.
UP NEXT: Missouri (2-0) will travel to Xavier on Tuesday night. Tipoff is set for 6 p.m. on CBS Sports Network.
