And-One: Road woes continue as Mizzou flops at Texas A&M
Following each Mizzou basketball game this season, we will highlight a few notable takeaways from the performance in the ‘And-One.’
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Offense doesn't travel, again
In what has become an all-too-common theme in these postgame reports, Missouri once again could never get its offense going in an uncompetitive road loss. The Tigers mustered just 18 points in the first half and 51 in the game in a 17-point loss at Texas A&M. The team now sits at 10-12 on the season and 2-7 in conference play.
As it had in the first matchup between these two teams 14 days ago, Texas A&M packed in its defense and dared Missouri to shoot from outside. Once again, the strategy worked. Missouri attempted 27 three-pointers and 22 shots from inside the arc. The Tigers shot seven of 27 (25.9 percent) from three-point range and 15 of 49 (30.6 percent) from the floor. Across the two losses to the Aggies, Missouri has shot a dismal 30 of 99. Sixty-two of those field goal attempts have come from behind the arc.
Missouri also turned the ball over 17 times, which led to 22 Texas A&M points. The offensive woes started with point guard Dru Smith, who torched Texas A&M with 18 points, eight rebounds and eight assists in the first meeting between the two teams. Tuesday, Smith missed all four of his field goal attempts. He mustered just four points and committed three turnovers.
With shooting guard Mark Smith missing his second game in a row due to a back injury, Dru Smith didn’t get much help. No Missouri player scored in double-digits. The only player to make half of his field goal attempts was reserve big man Axel Okongo, who tipped in a putback on his only shot.
Missouri has been plagued by shooting woes all year, but the issue has been especially pronounced on the road. The Tigers have now lost six games in a row away from Mizzou Arena. During that span, the team has never shot better than 34.7 percent from the floor and has only topped 30 percent from three-point range once. It has averaged 55.7 points per game.
Pickett provides spark but has night cut short by fouls
Missouri briefly made the game interesting with a 13-5 run to start the second half. Javon Pickett, who was limited to just eight minutes of playing time in the first half due to three fouls, served as the catalyst. Pickett got to the rim for a layup, hit a three-pointer and sank two free throws in the first three minutes of the half.
Unfortunately for Missouri, Pickett’s foul trouble reared its head again, and the Tigers couldn’t sustain the momentum.
Pickett picked up his fourth foul with 16:33 remaining in the game. That sent him to the bench. Desperate for a spark, head coach Cuonzo Martin inserted Pickett back into the game with 12:24 left. Pickett didn’t even make it a minute before picking up foul number five — and number six. That’s right, in a box score oddity, Pickett was charged with six fouls because, after he grabbed Quentin Jackson near midcourt on a fastbreak and drew a whistle, Jackson continued the break and Pickett slapped his arm as he went up for a layup, sending Jackson to the floor.
Jackson made three of his four free throws from the two fouls. Those served as part of a 10-0 run that put the game out of reach. Missouri never again got within eight points.
By the way, Pickett’s sixth foul wasn’t the only unusual technical called on Missouri. Martin got whistled for his first technical foul of the season and the second of his Missouri career when he protested Pickett’s third foul call in the first half. As a team, the Tigers committed an insane 32 personal fouls, their highest of the season and most in a game since at least the 2009-2010 year.
Tilmon quiet in return
Missouri got a key member back on the floor Tuesday as junior forward Jeremiah Tilmon saw his first game action since Jan. 4. Tilmon had missed eight straight games and nine of the past 10 due to a stress fracture in his left foot.
Tilmon’s presence wasn’t enough to spur Missouri’s offense to life, however. For one thing, even though he only got whistled for one foul, Tilmon was clearly on a minutes count. Despite starting center Reed Nikko fouling out, he only played 12 minutes. Plus, Texas A&M consistently denied him the ball and double-teamed him when he got it down low. Tilmon might have had another handful of assists had his teammates been able to knock down open threes. As it was, he finished with two points, four rebounds and one assist.
Game at a Glance
CAUSE FOR OPTIMISM: Missouri gets to return home on Saturday, where it has shot the ball better than on the road. Seriously, other than that, we've got nothing.
CAUSE FOR CONCERN: Texas A&M is not a particularly talented team. The Aggies won 14 games last season. They entered Tuesday ranked No. 174 by Ken Pomeroy. Despite losing to them earlier this season, Missouri was a 1.5-point favorite. Yet Texas A&M didn’t just beat Missouri, it looked like the better, more interested team throughout. It wasn’t just that the Tigers were missing shots. They got dominated on the glass, 49 to 30. Twenty-three Texas A&M offensive rebounds led to 20 second-chance points. The Aggies also outscored Missouri 26 to 14 in the paint. Martin has always said his teams will, at a minimum, always value defense, rebounding and effort, and Tuesday they were soundly out-played in at least two of those categories. Martin’s frustration was obvious; not only did he pick up a technical foul, he played Okongo and walk-on Evan Yerkes for the final few minutes of the game over a few more regular contributors. We’ll see how the Tigers respond, but Tuesday seems like the first time it’s plausible to at least suggest Martin has lost this team.
STOCK UP: Mitchell Smith. Smith was far from perfect, but he led Missouri with nine points and 11 rebounds. The latter matched a career-high.
STOCK DOWN: Torrence Watson. Watson hit a corner three-pointer and had an old-fashioned three-point play late in the game, after it was already well out of reach. Had it not been for those two plays, his only stats would have been missed shots, fouls and turnovers. Watson shot 2 of 11 from the field and one of nine from three-point range. He also committed three fouls and four turnovers. Missouri got outscored by 23 points with Watson on the floor.
UP NEXT: Missouri (10-12) will return home to host Arkansas (16-6) on Saturday. Tipoff is set for 2:30 p.m.