A message circulated through the group chat for the members of the Missouri basketball team Monday morning: The season isn’t over. Even though the Tigers capped off an underwhelming regular season by blowing a double-digit lead in a loss to Ole Miss on Saturday, bringing the team’s record to 14-16 on the year, there’s still a glimmer of hope that they could pull off a miraculous run at this week’s SEC tournament and return to the NCAA Tournament.
That’s the beauty of college basketball: entering conference championship week, nearly every team still has a chance, however slim, to reach the Big Dance. Missouri’s odds are longer than most; no team has ever won five games in five days at the SEC tournament. But freshman Torrence Watson said the team hasn’t given up on the thought.
“We were all just like, we really have a chance to do this,” Watson said. “... I know it’s five games in five days, but the guys that we have on our team are built for it.”
Head coach Cuonzo Martin is certainly fine with players harboring hope in the backs of their minds of making a run to the NCAA Tournament. But he doesn’t want it to distract from the first matchup of the conference tournament, when 12th-seeded Missouri will face 13-seed Georgia. Tipoff is set for 6 p.m. at Bridgestone Arena in Nashville.
“I’ve never been a guy to talk, let’s go win the tournament,” Martin said. “I mean of course you’d like to win the tournament. But not, okay, if we beat this team, you start looking at that next team. You have to take care of the task at hand first. Not worrying about fresh legs. No, let’s win the basketball game, get to the next one, try to win that game.”
Missouri’s matchup against Georgia is unique in that the two teams played each other just one week ago. The Tigers stifled the Bulldogs in Athens for a 64-39 win last Wednesday. Martin said his team can take confidence from the fact that it recently beat Georgia, but he expects the Bulldogs to play significantly better in this meeting. Last Wednesday, Georgia shot 25.5 percent from the field and 15 percent from three-point range, scoring just 16 points in the game’s first 30 minutes.
“(They) have guys that can make shots,” Martin said of Georgia. “They just didn’t shoot it well against us, but obviously the game plan that they implemented was a good game plan. They just didn’t make shots.”
Georgia coach Tom Crean said on the SEC teleconference that Missouri “did a number on us the last time we played them.” Missouri didn’t exactly shoot the lights out, either, starting the game 0-14 from three-point range, but the Tigers dominated on the glass, out-rebounding Georgia 50-28. Crean said he likes how his team has responded in the week since. Missouri center Jeremiah Tilmon said the Tigers aren’t expecting Georgia to play so poorly this time around. “We just make sure the energy and the aggression that we came out with the first game, we do it again,” Tilmon said. “... They’re going to be coming like 10 times harder, so we got to make sure we come 10 times harder as well.”
Despite the fact that Georgia mustered just 39 points in the first meeting, Martin said he wants to see better defense when the two teams face off this week. He said he and his staff watched film of last Wednesday’s game and counted eight to 10 occasions when a Georgia player was able to drive all the way to the basket. The Bulldogs just couldn’t convert the close-range looks into points.
“They missed quite a few shots at the rim, so for us, that means there were a lot of breakdowns on our part defensively,” Martin said. “So we have to tighten it up and be better.”
Martin also expects a heavier dose of freshman forward Nicolas Claxton, who has emerged as Georgia’s best offensive player this season. Claxton scored nine points and grabbed 10 rebounds against the Tigers, but he attempted only six shots. Part of that was the defense of redshirt sophomore Mitchell Smith, who got his first career start and played 17 minutes last Wednesday. Martin said he expects to use Smith on Claxton in the rematch, as well. Smith grabbed a career-high 11 rebounds in against Georgia.
Missouri also hopes to get freshman Javon Pickett back on the floor this week. Pickett, who is averaging 8.3 points per game and has started all but two contests this season, left the game at Georgia early in the second half due to back pain that has flared up a couple times this season. He participated in the team’s shootaround Saturday but didn’t play. Martin said he would evaluate Pickett’s status during the team’s practice Monday afternoon, but he expects the hard-nosed Pickett to try to suit up.
“If it’s up to him he’ll be on the floor,” Martin said. “He’s been rehabbing, so I mean I’ll be shocked if he doesn’t play Wednesday.”
Just as much as the talent on the floor, Martin said conference tournament play, especially among the lower seeds, boils down to mindset. Missouri would appear to have an edge over Georgia in that department. Only once in the past 10 games has Missouri lost by more than 10 points. Georgia, on the other hand, followed its 25-point loss to Missouri with a 20-point defeat against South Carolina. The Bulldogs averaged 42.5 points per game across the two contests.
“Who’s one foot out the door? Who’s ready to go home for spring break?” Martin said. “All those things kind of matter in young minds. It just matters on who’s ready to play.”
If Missouri does beat Georgia for the second time in a week, its next test would be appreciably more difficult. The Tigers would face Auburn at 2:30 p.m. on Thursday. Auburn won the only regular-season meeting between the two teams by 34 points on Jan. 30. The winner of that game will face fourth-seeded South Carolina.
In all likelihood, Missouri will not be able to pull off the miracle run to an SEC tournament title. Even earning an NIT bid would likely take at least three wins in Nashville. More than anything, Martin hopes his team uses the finality of this week as motivation to get the most out of however many games it does have left.
“In this case, for us, if you’re not the last team standing in this tournament, then the season is probably over,” Martin said. “So let’s do everything in our power to try to win every possession. Let’s try to win this game. Let’s fight to get that next game.”
