Missouri took the court Saturday favored against an SEC opponent for just the second time this season. But early in the Tigers' matchup against Georgia, which had lost 10 games in a row prior to this one, the home team found itself in a familiar situation.
Georgia started the game unable to miss. The Bulldogs made each of their first 10 shots and built an 18-4 lead. Missouri would cut into the deficit a bit, but Georgia successfully kept the Tigers at arm's length for the rest of the first half, taking a nine-point lead into the locker room.
In the second half, however, Missouri discovered its defense. The Tigers held Georgia without a field goal for 9:27. During that time, Missouri out-scored Georgia 21-7 to take control of the game. The Tigers ultimately outscored the Bulldogs by 19 points in the second half en route to a 79-69 win.
"I don’t get overly concerned when you’re like that," Missouri coach Cuonzo Martin said of his team's slow start, "because I’ve been in those situations as a player, I’ve been in them as a coach. Settle down, let’s focus on the task at hand one possession at a time, and we’ll be okay."
The victory snapped a six-game losing streak for the Tigers. Missouri finishes the regular season 11-20, 5-13 in SEC play. The Tigers will enter next week's SEC Tournament as the No. 12 seed, facing No. 13 Ole Miss in the opening round on Wednesday.
Here are five things we learned from the win.
1. Missouri looked like a new team on the defensive floor in the second half compared to the first 10 minutes.
Georgia didn't miss a shot for the first nine minutes and six seconds of the game. Javon Pickett said that was because Missouri wasn't nearly physical enough on the defensive end. Pickett said the Tigers did a particularly poor job of staying in front of the Bulldog ball-handlers. Seven of Georgia's 10 makes to open the game came in the paint.
"We didn’t play physical at all in that first half, period," Pickett said. "They had guys that don’t really dribble dribbling the ball. Just getting whatever shots they wanted, especially in the paint."
After starting 10-10 from the field, Georgia finished just 12-39. That included finishing with five makes on their final 21 shot attempts. Pickett said the difference resulted from Missouri playing with more physicality and discipline.
"The second half, we just played a little bit more aggressive," he said. "We talked out a few things. The communication on the court, it helped us out.”
2. Missouri's six-game losing streak entering Saturday had been defined by offensive woes. Those struggles continued during the first half against Georgia. But in the second, Missouri exploded for 49 points.
While it did come against a Georgia team that entered this game ranked second-to-last nationally among all high-major programs in defensive efficiency, Missouri's offense in the second half might have been its best of the season. The Tigers shot better than 65 percent from the field and better than 55 percent from three-point range after halftime. They had 12 assists on 17 made field goals. Three players scored in double-figures during the second half alone.
Kobe Brown, who missed the final 6:44 of the first half and the first 2:30 of the second half after picking up three early fouls, ignited Missouri's comeback. At one point, he scored nine straight points for Missouri to cut Georgia's lead from 10 points to three. Fifteen of Brown's 21 points came after the break.
Pickett, too, found his footing in the second half. Playing his final home game, Missouri's lone senior failed to score in the first half, but he had 12 in the second, thus extending his streak to 15 straight conference games scoring in double figures. Pickett said he took the floor with some Senior Day jitters, but calmed down and played better as the game progressed.
“I was a little excited," he said. "Second half, calmed down a little bit and took what they gave me. Just getting into the lane a little bit more, focusing on my shot a little bit. I felt like the first half I didn’t really focus on my layups that much. Second half, I was looking at the rim and they fell.”
Missouri also got much improved play from its point guard, Boogie Coleman, after halftime. Coleman had two points and three turnovers in the first half, but he knocked down three three-pointers and scored 10 points in the second. His final triple gave Missouri its first lead of the game, and the Tigers would never trail again.
“I thought he was solid the second half," Martin said of Coleman. "That first half, whoooo."
3. The biggest key to Missouri's victory was its dominance on the glass.
The Tigers out-rebounded Georgia 43-24. Fourteen of those rebounds came on the offensive glass, leading to 19 second-chance points. Georgia scored just nine.
Winning the rebounding margin has been a key to victory all season for Missouri. The Tigers are now 11-2 when they record more boards than their opponent and 0-18 when they fail to do so.
"That’s one of the main focuses in practice, film, wherever," Brown said. "Coach is always texting the bigs and sometimes (Pickett), sometimes the guards, about we gotta give ourselves a second chance. We can’t be one shot and out. We gotta get our hands on as many second-chance shots as we can. So it’s a big emphasis for our team.”
Freshman Trevon Brazile, in particular, came through on the glass. Four days after setting a new career high with nine rebounds at South Carolina, Brazile bested that mark by grabbing 10 boards against Georgia. He also logged eight points and four blocks.
Martin, who said after the game that Brazile almost didn't suit up due to a hand injury he suffered late in the loss at South Carolina, raved about his development.
“He’s a high-level talent," Martin said. "I think he’s starting to realize it, just the plays he’s making. … You just look at him from the time he started and you look at his numbers, he was probably averaging two or three rebounds. He’s probably five-plus in conference play."
4. Missouri sent Pickett out with a win.
Pickett held the ball as the final seconds ticked off the clock, and deservedly so. The Tigers' lone senior and unquestioned leader has also emerged as its most consistent scorer over the past couple months. Pickett, who averaged 8.3 points per game in non-conference play, finished the SEC slate averaging 13.4.
After the game, Martin stumped for Pickett to earn inclusion on the all-SEC second team. But he didn't stop there. He also advocated for Pickett in his post-basketball career, whenever that arrives. Pickett could technically return to school for one more season, but he said Saturday he hasn't thought about that yet.
"He understands how hard every time down, the focus level, being accountable, being a team leader, taking care of business on and off the floor," Martin said of Pickett. "He understands all that.
"Our alums, our donors should be fighting to get him to work for their companies when he decides to be done playing. He’s a high-level man. I’m just happy for him. He’s one of those guys I don’t have to worry about when it’s all said and done.”
5. Now Missouri will try to do something it hasn't been able to all season: maintain momentum after a win.
The Tigers have won consecutive games just one time this season — on Nov. 18 and 21. They have followed up seven of their previous nine wins with double-digit losses in the following game.
With no case for an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament or NIT, Missouri will have to buck that trend in a big way if it hopes to extend its season past next week's trip to Tampa. As he did throughout his postgame press conference, Martin took on a philosophical tone when asked what his team needs to do to carry Saturday's success into Wednesday's matchup with Ole Miss.
“I think everything, just like my life, is a boxing match," he said. "You’re going to win a few rounds, you’re going to lose a few rounds. It’s what it is. It’s high-level focus, preparation. It’s a fight. That’s what it is. Especially those first few games, it’s usually sloppy because everyone is trying to get a feel for the rims, the arena, all of that. You just gotta go out there and play, that’s it.”
Star of the Game: Brown not only scored his most points in a month, he did so while playing just 22 minutes due to foul trouble. He made eight of 11 shot attempts, marking the fifth time this season he has shot better than 70 percent from the floor.
Brown said he has learned throughout the course of his season how to maintain his aggressiveness even in the face of foul trouble. Missouri will need him to maintain that aggressive approach in Nashville. The Tigers are now 11-7 when Brown scores in double figures and 0-13 when he fails to do so.
Room for Improvement: It didn't end up costing Missouri, but the Tigers's season-long struggle to take care of the ball remained an issue Saturday. Missouri turned the ball over 14 times. And it wasn't so much the number of giveaways that proved problematic, but the number of live-ball turnovers that led to Georgia points on the other end of the floor. The Bulldogs outscored Missouri 22-8 in points off turnovers.
What it means: A win over a woeful Georgia squad isn't going to alter anyone's perception of this Missouri season. But it certainly beats losing to the Bulldogs, who now rank No. 210 nationally according to KenPom. Plus, regardless of how the SEC Tournament plays out, Martin will finish his Missouri career with a win percentage no worse than .500.
Next up: Missouri will begin postseason play Wednesday night in the first round of the SEC Tournament. The Tigers will face Ole Miss, who they beat in both regular-season matchups. Tipoff is set for 5 p.m.
Quotable: “What I do expect is I expect to get up tomorrow, go to church. Of course I’ll count my blessings. I don’t worry about that. I don’t.” -- Cuonzo Martin when asked whether he expects to be back as Missouri's head coach next season
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