I can’t fall asleep without the television on. I need the noise. But I also can’t fall asleep if there’s something really interesting on. So most nights when I lay down, I’ll flip on The Office or Everybody Loves Raymond. It’s mindless background noise. I don’t have to pay attention. I know what happens because I’ve seen every episode, a lot of them two or three times.
Missouri basketball is that mindless bedtime sitcom. It just doesn't make me laugh as much.
I know what’s going to happen. I’ve seen this episode before. There are minor plot differences. One episode may be more about Kobe Brown, the next more about DaJuan Gordon, the next more centered on Boogie Coleman. You might get the officials making a cameo as the foils now and again. But the gist of the whole thing is pretty much the same.
Missouri hangs around, probably even leads for a good amount of the second half. The game tightens up. Eventually, the Tigers just don’t make quite enough plays and they lose. Tune in next week, same night, same channel to see the what crazy hijinks the Tigers get themselves into on the next episode.
Missouri has lost five of its last six games. Let’s take a little closer look at four of those:
Lost to Texas A&M 67-64: Missouri led for 35 minutes, 17 seconds, including a 12-0 start.
Lost to Alabama 86-76: Missouri led for 33:21, including a 13-point lead with 14:38 to play.
Lost to Auburn 55-54: Missouri led for 26:38 and never possessed the ball in the final 35.4 seconds in a one-point game.
Lost to Florida 66-65: Missouri led for 16:13, all in the second half, including 65-62 with 36 seconds to go.
Four losses in which they led for 111 minutes and 29 seconds of a possible 160 minutes. That's 69.7% of the time for those of you keeping track. They led all four games with less than six minutes to go and led three of them with less than three minutes to go. And found a way to lose them all.
“Got to minimize the mental errors,” junior Kobe Brown said. “Just make smart plays. Can’t have any slip-ups. When it’s coming down the wire, every little thing matters and every little thing counts.”
It’s not one specific thing in every game. Against Alabama, the defense broke down. Against Auburn, the coach opted not to foul and forfeited at least a possession and maybe two or three. Against Florida, the Gators did foul down one and Boogie Coleman missed the front end of a one-and-one. Different plot, same ending.
“You can’t have mental breakdowns down the stretch,” head coach Cuonzo Martin said. “In most cases, it’s confidence. In every game, something different, but you have to take the scouting report down the stretch in games.
“But you’ve got to finish these games.”
Specific to this one, Martin’s scouting report said that Florida guard Tyree Appleby likes to drive to his right. Missouri allowed him to drive right most of the day. Appleby scored 17 points, including a 10-10 performance from the free throw line capped by the two that gave the Gators the winning points with 7.9 seconds to go.
Fans will blame the coaching and there’s some truth to that. Ultimately in college sports, the coach is responsible. If his team isn’t good enough, he didn’t bring good enough players in. Martin didn’t tell DaJuan Gordon to commit a foul 80 feet from the basket. He didn’t instruct Coleman to miss a free throw with a one-point lead. To be fair, he did opt not to foul against Auburn. Coaching matters. Players have to make plays too.
The point is, there’s blame to go around. But we’re well past the point of it mattering exactly why Missouri is 8-13 and 2-6 in SEC play, 13th out of 14 teams and headed for another dreary Wednesday night (maybe it's Tuesday, I honestly can't remember, which shows you how many meaningful games Missouri has played in the SEC Tournament over the year) first four game in the conference tournament. They’re here and headed nowhere in Martin’s fifth year. At the end of the season, being close a lot doesn’t count for much. The wins and losses will tell the tale of what this team is.
Six weeks remain to write a new ending. Right now, we’ve seen this show and there’s not much reason to keep watching. We'll just keep it on the background to lull us to sleep.
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