Mizzou makes adjustments, takes 71-64 road win over Pitt - PowerMizzou: Missouri Tigers Football & Basketball Recruiting

Published Nov 28, 2023

Mizzou makes adjustments, takes 71-64 road win over Pitt

Drew King • PowerMizzou

Basketball Writer

Nothing sat right with Mizzou after its 78-70 win over Loyola (Md.) on Saturday. The team had gone 2-1 in a three-game homestand but didn’t impress all that much in any of the matchups against mid-major opponents. Changes need to be made in a hurry.

The Tigers made the right corrections on Tuesday. Playing in the inaugural ACC/SEC Challenge, Missouri stepped its game up and defeated Pittsburgh at Petersen Events Center, 71-64, to come away with its second road victory of the year.

“I challenged our guys to come out and play 40 minutes of basketball. And they answered that expectation,” head coach Dennis Gates said. “Sometimes you want to see that competitive edge, you want to see that spirit, that fight. And I thought our guys responded in a certain way.”

One of the biggest changes came in the starting lineup. Gates said he and graduate senior guard Sean East II often stay up past midnight texting each other after games. After the win over the Greyhounds, East sent him an idea for a new first five, combining Indiana transfer guard Tamar Bates and sophomore forward Aidan Shaw with the team’s three returning graduate seniors, East, Nick Honor and Noah Carter.

Gates looked into the analytics behind the lineup and liked the numbers he saw. The next day at practice, he told the team that the group would be their starters against the Panthers.

“We just had to sit and think about it and sit and talk with Coach Gates and just read the energy in the room,” East said. “It was just the right decision, you know what I'm saying? We needed a spark. Those two guys (Bates and Shaw) bring a consistent spark every day. And you know, they hunt what we call EGBs (energy-generating behaviors). So it was just like, we needed to come on the road with a type of disposition and a fight to us. And to pair that with the three seniors that we've got that are returning from last year, I knew it'd be a good kind of mix.”

The head coach didn’t make his first sub until the 14:18 mark of the first half on Tuesday. The visitors trailed 7-6 but had set the tone that they weren’t going to make it easy on Pitt (5-2). Gates gave East all the credit.

“That's the expectation that I have for my players, to be able to give me suggestions,” Gates said. “I truly believe the game was won with their internal leadership. I mean, I'm the head coach, I understand that, the staff does the scouts, we all put our two cents in. But our players won that basketball game. And I credit them their focus, and obviously, their connectivity in doing so.”

With a new starting unit and a refreshed rotation, Mizzou took the Panthers’ biggest strengths and turned them into weaknesses. Entering Tuesday’s contest, Pittsburgh was top-10 in the nation in both offensive and defensive rebounding percentages, outrebounding opponents by 17.5 per game. But the Tigers came out ahead on the glass by the end of the evening, 36-33, including 11 boards on the offensive end.

Pitt was also one of the best in the country at defending the 3-point line, allowing opponents to shoot just 23.8% from outside. The black and gold managed to find good looks along the perimeter and knocked down their long-range shots, going 8-22 from deep.

The Panthers made a living at the free throw line, sinking 25 of their 31 foul shots, but only connected on 40.9% of their 2-pointers and 28.0% of their 3s. The team shot just 25.0% from the field in the second half. Starting guards Carlton Carrington and Ishmael Leggett combined for nine turnovers, keeping the hosts out of rhythm. East said it was all part of the plan.

“We kind of watched the film on them on them and, you know, they kind of struggled a little bit with pressure,” East said. “So we wanted to bring our pressure that we bring every day to them and see how they would handle it.”

East made three free throws in the final minute of the game to seal the 71-64 win. He finished the evening with a team-high 21 points to go along with five rebounds, four assists and a steal.

Gates said the Tigers didn’t do anything outside of the ordinary on Tuesday. They played how they wanted to play. He’s hopeful they can keep playing that way.

“Our guys were able to execute that and do exactly what I've asked and what the teammates talked about,” Gates said. “And again, that was a tough game. That was an unbelievable game and we had our backs against the wall. And I'm just proud of our guys for coming out with a victory.”

Vanover responds after push from team

Gates hadn’t liked what he’d seen from Connor Vanover throughout his first four games this year. The Oral Roberts transfer big man saw just six minutes of action against Loyola before being benched in the second half.

But against Pitt, Vanover was a difference-maker, coming up with several crucial plays that helped Mizzou take the win.

So what was the difference?

“The difference was me as a coach,” Gates said.

After the Loyola game, Gates told Vanover he wasn’t providing what the team needed and was considering holding him out against the Panthers. At the next practice, when Gates unveiled the next starting lineup, he listed out the first unit and the second unit for his players to see. Vanover wasn’t on either list — Gates put him with the scout team.

“I wasn't going to not hold him accountable,” Gates said. “And what I appreciate the most is that young man allows himself to be held accountable. He didn't bark, he didn't fuss, he didn't bite, he didn't have a bad attitude. He came and gave his very best on the scout team. And we saw a reflection of that in the game.”

The graduate senior helped set the edge on the boards, pulling down three on offense and two on defense. He used his 7-foot-5 frame to effectively protect the paint, rejecting two shots and deterring other drivers from entering the lane. He also posted a season-high six points.

Missouri took its largest lead of the game at 64-54 with 5:21 remaining in the second half, but an 8-0 run from the hosts made it a one-score game again. Gates called timeout with 2:15 left and the visitors got the ball to Iowa State transfer guard Caleb Grill out of the break for a layup to go back up by four. Pittsburgh senior forward Blake Hinson was fouled at the other end and split his free throws, but Honor lofted an alley-oop to Vanover on the next possession to extend the lead to 68-63 with 1:32 to go. The Tigers kept its two-score advantage the rest of the way.

Vanover ended the game with a plus/minus of positive-nine in 20 minutes.

“We challenged him,” East said. “We didn't think he was showing what he could really do. We just had to pull it out of him.”