NASHVILLE--All week, the speculation raged. Was this the day? Would he play? Even the opposing coach started to think there was something to it.
“We prepared for him,” Vanderbilt head coach Bryce Drew said. “We kind of wanted him to play.”
Ultimately, Michael Porter Jr. spent another night in a warmup suit on the Missouri bench. And this time, he watched his younger brother put on a show.
Jontay Porter scored a career-high 24 points to go with seven rebounds and six assists, leading Missouri to a 74-66 win over Vanderbilt, ending a three-game losing streak and giving the Tigers’ NCAA Tournament hopes a serious jolt.
“I was just happy for our guys,” head coach Cuonzo Martin said. “It just says something about them. You drop three, you go to Alabama and get a road win. You drop three, go to Vandy and get a road win. That’s not an easy thing to do. That says something about you as a team, as an individual.”
While the cloud of will Michael or won’t he looms over the last week of Missouri’s regular season, it was Jontay that turned in a one-and-done worthy performance on a night the Tigers absolutely had to have it.
He made all four three-pointers. He made both of his free throws. He found the open man. He wore Vanderbilt out on midrange jumpers. He scored 16 of his points after halftime, many of them when Vanderbilt went into a zone defense that left Porter open at the free throw line.
“We like our chance when teams play zone,” Martin said. “We spent a lot of time in that area since I think the A&M game because we had opportunities like that didn’t capitalize.
“Jontay did a great job of making adjustments, reading it and shooting the ball in rhythm and that was a big plus for us.”
“They were in their zone kind of like really spread out, so Jontay was just open,” Jordan Barnett said. “If he’s open, we’re going to throw it to him every single time and he was able to hit a ton of shots tonight and had a huge game.”
On this night, he even dunked, something he’s been oft-criticized for not doing much of the year. His throwdown gave Missouri a 64-49 lead with 4:10 to play. It was his ninth made field goal in ten attempts and sent Cuonzo Martin streaking down the side of the court clapping as his team won its 19th game of the season.
“I can only imagine what he did,” Porter said. “The whole bench was pretty hyped up. That was pretty cool to see.”
The difference in Porter on this night? It was simple: The ball went in the basket.
“We got a special ability of making the other big on the other team look really good against us,” Drew said. “He’s made some threes, but he hasn’t shot the ball near at the level he shot tonight. You go back to that Texas A&M film and that same shot he’s making against the zone, he’s missing against Texas A&M. He had one of those nights.”
“I hit a couple midrange, I was like, ‘all right, let’s keep going,’” Porter said. “That was pretty refreshing because I haven’t been shooting the ball very well lately.”
The win put Missouri at 9-and-8 in the SEC, ensuring at least a break even record in the country’s third best conference. It kept alive (pending the outcome of tonight’s game between Arkansas and Auburn), hopes for a top four seed in the SEC Tournament. But far more important than that, it may have stamped Mizzou’s ticket to the NCAA Tournament. To be absolutely certain, the Tigers probably need one more win, either Saturday against the Razorbacks or in their SEC Tournament opener. But a loss tonight would have been the Tigers’ fourth straight and while it wouldn’t have killed the tournament chances completely, it would have put them on very shaky ground.
“I think it’s huge,” Barnett said, fresh off 17 second half points of his own. “I think it’s a good way to get our confidence all the way back.”
Missouri is on the verge of slipping on a pair of dancing shoes for the first time in five seasons. As for that other big question about the season?
“I don’t know as far as playing,” Martin said. “He’s looking a lot better. But I don’t know. Who knows? We’ll see.”
Stay tuned. Both answers could be revealed as soon as Saturday.
