High-scoring Florida State brings new test for Missouri

NASHVILLE — For much of the past week since Michael Porter Jr. returned to Missouri’s lineup, the focus has been on the Tigers’ offense. How would he fit? Would his teammates be able to integrate him into the offense? Would his addition actually help Missouri?

But Friday night when Missouri and Florida State face off, that end of the court won’t be the Tigers’ main concern. Slowing down one of the most prolific scoring offenses in the country will.

Of Missouri’s opponents this year, only Auburn, which hung a season-high 91 points on Missouri back in January, has been better at getting the ball in the bucket than Florida State.

“That’s where Coach (Hamilton) hangs his hat at. You talk about scoring 80 points (per game), that’s another level you have to factor in,” Missouri head coach Cuonzo Martin said. “The way they score, the way they transition. In most cases, they will have four guys on the floor at all times that can handle, make decisions, get to the rim and make a shot.”

Leading the charge for Florida State are two seniors — Phil Cofer and Braian Angola-Rodas — along with junior Terance Mann, all of whom average between 12.9 and 13.2 points per game. When Martin describes the Seminoles’ versatility, that trio is at the forefront. All three can realistically play any of the three perimeter positions, and their length — all three stand 6-foot-6 to taller — causes problems for smaller defenders. Because of that, FSU gets out in transition early and often, ranking 32nd in adjusted tempo on KenPom and 37th in average possession length.

Despite that, Missouri doesn’t plan to do anything different than it did against similarly skilled and versatile groups like Arkansas, Auburn and Tennessee.

“We’re just gonna go out there, play defense and try to make that the backbone of our game,” junior guard Jordan Geist, who will likely draw the assignment of guarding Mann or Angola-Rodas, said Thursday. “I think we just got to sit down and play defense. When someone gets beat, you’ve to help them and try to force someone else to make a play and make shots.”

Something the Tigers haven’t seen much of this season, especially in SEC play, is the length of Florida State’s frontline, which includes 6-foot-9 Mfiondu Kabengele, 7-foot Ike Obiagu and 7-foot-4 Christ Koumadje. Of the three, though, Kabengele is the only one to provide a consistent offensive threat for Jontay Porter and Jeremiah Tilmon to contend with. The key for Missouri’s big men, as it usually is, will again be staying on the floor and out of foul trouble.

The duo has fouled out a combined 15 times this year, three times more than the rest of the Tigers’ roster combined.

“We haven’t put too much of an emphasis on that,” Porter said. “We feel like if we play our principles, it’s not really going to hurt us too much. Our defense as a whole, we play as a team. Not one player is just going to exploit our defense like that. But it’ll definitely be a challenge for us bigs to stay out of foul trouble because they’re so big.”