Advertisement
basketball Edit

Missouri keeps firing away and has no plans to stop

GET THE INSIDE SCOOP EVERY DAY WITH YOUR PREMIUM SUBSCRIPTION!

Missouri entered Tuesday night’s game against Texas A&M 259th in the country in three-point shooting percentage. The Tigers were 127th in two-point field goal percentage, actually shooting better than 50% from inside the arc. It's not fantastic, but Missouri is significantly better the closer it gets to the basket.

The Tigers attempted 50 shots on Tuesday. Thirty-five of them came from three-point range and just nine went in. They lost to the Aggies 66-64.

To be fair, Mizzou attempted more than 15 two-point shots (it made six of them). Some of those attempts drew fouls and sent the Tigers to the line, where they made their first 23 attempts to set an NCAA record with 54 consecutive makes over a two-game span. But even adding in a handful or two of those, at least two-thirds of Missouri’s field goal attempts came from three-point range.

Many of them weren’t bad shots. Mizzou did have plenty of open looks against A&M’s defense. The Tigers just didn’t make very many of them. And it’s been a season-long trend. The 26% effort on Tuesday knocked Mizzou’s season three-point mark down to 30.7%. That mark is just slightly ahead of the 2016-17 team, Kim Anderson’s last, which set the school mark for futility at 30.4% from beyond the arc.

So why keep taking them?

““You can always say shot selection in games,” head coach Cuonzo Martin said. “When you’re playing against good teams, they force you to do certain things, so that goes both ways. I think part of that is just shots not falling, because I felt like we had good looks, especially in the corners.”

“Those guys shooting threes, Mark (Smith), Torrence (Watson), Javon (Pickett), we have a lot of confidence in them," Dru Smith said. "We have a lot of confidence that they’re going to make shots and even if we have games like this where they don’t fall as often if I pass them the ball and they’re open, like I still want them to shoot it every time.”

Advertisement

Ever go home after a long day and want to mix yourself a fancy cocktail, but don’t have the time or ingredients? Let Boulevard Beverage Company be your bartender! Introducing ready to drink Fling Craft Cocktails in a can. These flavorful spirit-based drinks are made with all natural ingredients and offer low calories and carbs. Try our blood orange vodka soda, cucumber lime gin and tonic, mai-tai and margarita. Click on the logo above for more information.

Fling Cocktails, the official game day sponsor of PowerMizzou.com Go Tigers!

The 2016-17 team attempted 23.1 three-pointers per game. The 2004-05 team, the only other one to finish below 31% in school history, attempted 21.1 threes per game and shot 30.6%. This team is averaging 23.3 attempts from behind the three-point line, which was moved back 14 3/4 inches prior to this season. But Missouri’s coach and players say they see these shots go in in practice daily.

“We shoot tough shots in practice, deep shots in practice, sprinting off screens, all kinds of shots,” Martin said. “I think, again, as we continue to drive the ball, the three-point shot will fall."

“I feel like we just had some tough bounces today, like a lot of shots went in and out,” Mark Smith, who took 13 of the three-pointers and made five, said. “I feel like they’re definitely going to start falling here soon. I feel like we’re all pretty confident still.

The loss to the Aggies was a killer. A&M came into the game ranked 157th in KenPom so this marks Mizzou’s second “bad loss” of the year. It puts them 9-and-9 on the season, 1-and-5 in the SEC and headed pretty clearly nowhere important this season. The loss in and of itself was bad enough. It was made worse by the fact that Mizzou earned it by emphasizing the thing it has done been worst at all season.

Javon Pickett was 1-for-4 from three point range. His 25% shooting percentage mirrored that of the team.
Javon Pickett was 1-for-4 from three point range. His 25% shooting percentage mirrored that of the team. (Jessi Dodge)

Part of that is the opponent. Martin said most teams force Missouri to take threes and make them to win games. He also pointed out with Jeremiah Tilmon out of the lineup, some of those shots become tougher. Part of it also is the construction of the roster, especially without Tilmon and without Kobe Brown who was sick and did not play againt the Aggies.

“What you do is what you do. You can’t ask a guy that’s not a great driver to become a great driver. I think guys play to their strengths,” Martin said. “When you look at the NBA level, guy’s a catch and shoot guy, he doesn’t come up a tremendous ball handler, attacking the rim. You have to do what you do.”

There is no magic to it. Missouri has, at times, made shots this season. The Tigers hit 28 out of 50 from three-point range in wins over Chicago State and Florida. A lot of the looks against the Aggies came off of penetration and kickouts, something Missouri has emphasized more in the last couple of weeks. While those on the outside are asking when Missouri will stop shooting the three, the Tigers are insisting the thing to do is keep shooting it when it’s open.

“I don’t doubt that they can make shots,” Martin said. “I don’t doubt that. Just have to knock them down. That’s all.”

It sounds simple. It’s been anything but that for most of the season.

Advertisement