Game at a glance: Geist's heroics spark upset of Central Florida
As Jordan Geist stood at the top of the key, holding the ball while the final seconds of regulation ticked away, the fans in Mizzou Arena Sunday likely had the same thought: Here we go again.
At that point, Missouri trailed Central Florida, picked in the preseason to win the American Athletic Conference and favored by three points over the Tigers, by exactly three. The Tigers' chances had taken a big blow when Javon Pickett failed to inbound the ball in time to avoid a five-second violation and UCF’s Aubrey Dawkins drained two free throws with 12.8 seconds remaining. The odds of a win appeared even slimmer as Geist caught an inbound pass with seven seconds remaining and held the ball for about four of those seconds, looking for teammate Mark Smith to come open. Smith never did, and it became clear that, like a few times last season, Geist would be forced to take the final shot.
A year ago, when Geist found himself in these situations, it never ended well. Geist had a pass intercepted in the final seconds of a tie game against Florida last season, leading to a game-winning layup for Chris Chiozza. Similar to Sunday, he took a last-second three-pointer against Arkansas that rimmed out. He also had his shot attempt blocked in the closing seconds of regulation against Mississippi, which led to overtime, where Missouri lost.
Geist said he still thinks about those disappointing moments. That’s why Sunday, when he took a few quick dribbles, jumped, hung in the air, repositioned the ball so it wouldn’t be blocked, and let loose a perfect swish, Geist said he “couldn’t even describe” his emotions. The basket sent the home fans into a frenzy and the game into overtime, and Missouri ultimately prevailed 62-64.
After the game, head coach Cuonzo Martin admitted he didn’t intend for Missouri’s final possession of regulation to unfold like that, but he remained comfortable with putting the ball in Geist’s hands to start the possession, even after his struggles in similar moments last season.
“I would rather have the ball in his hands, because I know that he embraces those challenges and he can deal with whatever goes with it, whether it goes in or it doesn’t go in,” Martin said.
Geist, too, said he was confident entering the possession and remained so when it became apparent he wouldn’t be able to complete a pass to Smith. At one point, he joked to reporters that he has “big cojones.”
“I’m confident I can make any shot,” Geist said. “I’ll take any shot out there. It don’t matter if I miss it and I get criticized for it. It don’t matter to me.”
The buzzer-beater was certainly the most dramatic moment of the game, but it likely wouldn’t have been possible had Geist not made a critical steal and layup with the Tigers trailing by three points with 40 seconds remaining. Geist also hit a step-back three-pointer to give Missouri an overtime lead it wouldn’t relinquish. The senior has battled a nagging back injury lately, missing most of the team’s practices since it returned from the Paradise Jam invitational two weeks ago, but he remained confident in his shooting ability. He finished the game with a team-high 18 points and said afterward he felt like he was “shooting into an ocean.”
“That’s just something we talk about,” he said. “Shooting that thing into an ocean because we’re confident, we come in here and work.”
Just as important as Geist’s shooting was the fact that he played 40 minutes without turning the ball over. Turnovers have doomed Missouri in losses to Iowa State and Temple this season, but against Central Florida, the Tigers only gave the ball away 10 times.
“That’s my biggest thing,” Geist said of turning the ball over. “I don’t even care about shooting the ball. … Turing the ball over is our biggest thing, and being a senior leader, I gotta take care of the ball.”
Against both Iowa State and Temple, the stat sheet indicated that Missouri actually outplayed its opponent in several key areas. The Tigers shot a higher percentage and won the rebounding battle in both losses, but turnovers proved devastating. Sunday’s game was the inverse. Central Florida shot 48 percent from the field compared to 37 percent for Missouri. The Knights scored 12 more points at the free-throw line. They even held the Tigers without a point for a 7:31 stretch late in the first half.
But Missouri hung in the game with its rebounding, tough defense and three-point shooting. The Tigers made 12 of 29 three-point attempts. Despite the fact that Central Florida’s starting forwards stood 6-foot-11 and 7-foot-6, Missouri finished the game with one more rebound. Seventeen of the team’s 33 rebounds came on the offensive end and led to 16 second-chance points.
Martin said the difference between the loss to Temple and Sunday’s win boiled down to toughness.
“Rebounding is toughness,” Martin said. “... I think rebounding is toughness and pride.”
Geist’s buzzer-beater at the end of regulation represented toughness of a different kind. He was well aware of the criticism of his late-game play a season ago, but when he couldn’t pass the ball to Smith at the end of the game Sunday, he didn’t shy away from the moment. This time, instead of facing fans' ire, he'll go down as the hero.
“A lot of guys, it would probably affect them, make them not want to take it,” Geist said of the criticism he’s receiving in the past. “But I’m not afraid to take any shot. I’ll just go out there and shoot it.”
TURNING POINT: During the 7:31 stretch in which it did not score during the first half, Missouri looked downright overmatched on the offensive end. But the Tigers emerged from the locker room looking like a new team. Jeremiah Tilmon, who played just four minutes in the first half before going to the bench with two fouls, immediately scored in the post to open the second half. Geist hit a couple threes, Pickett had a three and a layup, and Mark Smith also made a three, and in just seven minutes, the Tigers turned a six-point deficit into a seven-point lead. Missouri scored 20 points during that seven-minute stretch after scoring just 21 in the entire first half.
IT WAS OVER WHEN: Collin Smith’s 40-foot heave at the final buzzer rimmed out.
CAUSE FOR OPTIMISM: This wasn’t one of those games where Missouri won because its opponent simply played poorly. The Tigers overcame a solid defensive performance by Central Florida and several big shots by the Knight players in the second half. In short, this performance is replicable, provided Missouri takes care of the basketball and continues to buy into Martin’s values of toughness, defense and rebounding.
CAUSE FOR CONCERN: There was one recurring flaw that reared its head again Sunday. Missouri is not good at inbounding the ball when faced with heavy pressure. Against Temple, the Tigers at one point had back-to-back inbounds passes stolen when facing the Owls’ full-court press. Central Florida didn’t pressure Missouri on Sunday, but the team is very fortunate that Pickett’s five-second call with 15 seconds remaining didn’t cost it the game. Asked about the inbounding issues after the game, Martin said “only time and wisdom will change it.”
STOCK UP: Javon Pickett. Mitchell Smith would have been a deserving candidate as well, but we’ll give the nod to Pickett because he not only scored a career-high 13 points but was largely tasked with guarding Central Florida’s best scorer, Aubrey Dawkins. Pickett made a couple mistakes characteristic of a true freshman — in addition to not inbounding the ball in time late in the second half, he also missed the front end of a one-and-one at the free throw line in overtime — but the fact that he played 40 minutes Sunday shows the level of trust Martin has in him.
STOCK DOWN: Kevin Puryear. The undersized Puryear had a tough time against Central Florida’s towering front line. For the first time all season, Puryear didn’t score a point. Fortunately for Missouri, though, Mitchell Smith’s contribution of nine points and seven rebounds made up for Puryear’s bad day.
UP NEXT: Missouri (4-3) hosts Texas-Arlington on Tuesday. The game will tip off at 7 p.m.