Missouri has struggled to find consistent point guard play all season. Facing the player who manned that spot a season ago, Xavier Pinson, the lack of a primary ball-handler was more apparent than ever.
Missouri couldn't find an answer to LSU's swarming defense Saturday night. LSU entered the game ranked first in the nation in steals, while Mizzou ranked No. 324 out of 358 Division I teams in turnover rate. Thus, it didn't come as much of a surprise that the visiting Tigers turned the ball over 19 times. LSU turned those giveaways into 25 points in a 75-55 rout.
"You can do a thousand ball handling drills," a clearly frustrated Cuonzo Martin said after the game. "We can work on all kind of ball-handling drills. It’s being comfortable with handling pressure. It’s really that simple."
Even when Missouri did manage to get a shot off, its offense struggled. The Tigers shot just 20-56 from the field and 3-15 from three-point range. They failed to reach 60 points for the fourth time in the past five games.
Despite its offensive woes, Missouri hung around for much of the first half, trailing by six at the break. But LSU broke the game open with a 15-0 run to start the second half. Missouri turned the ball over four times during that 4:15 span.
The loss extended Missouri's losing streak to five games, the first time the Tigers have dropped five in a row during Martin's tenure. It dropped the team to 10-20 with two regular-season games left to play.
Here are five things we learned from the loss.
1. Missouri still doesn't know what to do in the face of pressure.
This team's list of flaws is lengthy, but it starts with a lack of a competent ball-handler. LSU's defense shone a spotlight on that deficiency Saturday.
Missouri's 19 turnovers tied for its second-most this season. Boogie Coleman accounted for seven of those — in just 22 minutes. That included an over-the-head flip that sailed out of bounds as well as a pass to nobody.
"I thought Coleman has to do a better job of handling the pressure, just getting over the top, making plays," Martin said. "I thought looks were there. From the sideline, looking, when you get the ball, get it over the top and make plays. I thought he held onto some of those too long.”
Martin subbed out Coleman in favor of Kaleb Brown at point guard for most of the second half, and Brown fared better, turning the ball over just one time, although it's worth noting that LSU had called off its full-court press by that point.
Coleman wasn't the only player with ball security issues. Every player who saw the floor for Missouri turned the ball over at least one time aside from Trevon Brazile. Javon Pickett chalked up the giveaways to a combination of the Tigers not being strong enough with the ball and making some careless mistakes.
“We let them get deflections by not coming to the ball and they were able to get steals," Pickett said. "And also we just had some careless turnovers. Like we just threw the ball out of bounds a couple times."
2. LSU won the game in the first four minutes of the second half.
Missouri closed its deficit to six points by scoring the final four points of the first half. At that point, it felt the visitors were lucky to be within two buckets, as they had already turned the ball over 10 times and LSU had made 50 percent of its shots.
LSU wasted no time in slamming the door shut. It made seven of its first eight shots of the second half. Seven of its 15 points during the run came off Missouri turnovers. Pickett said Missouri came out of the locker room "flat."
“We didn’t guard at all," Pickett said. "I’m pretty sure they got some steals, and that’s what really gets their offense going. But when we got to the half court, we just didn’t guard at all. We let them do whatever they wanted."
Less than two minutes into the second half, with LSU having scored six straight, Martin tried calling a timeout to stem the tide. That proved ineffective. While he said his team did a better job late in the half of "doing the things we talked about," by that point, the game was effectively decided. Missouri never got the score within 16 points.
“I think the first two points, DaJuan (Gordon) gambled on a pass, they got a layup," Martin said. "I think the second one, Kobe (Brown) gave up on offensive rebound. ... And it just kind of spiraled from there."
3. Mizzou made sure that it wasn't going to be Pinson who beat it. Turns out, his teammates were plenty capable.
Early in the game, the Tigers double-teamed Pinson at just about every opportunity. Martin said the defensive strategy wasn't necessarily unique to Pinson. Regardless, it largely worked. Pinson scored 10 points and dished three assists, but he shot just 2-6 and turned the ball over five times.
“I think the same as any point guard," Martin said. "Any time he runs the ball screen with a big, we trap the ball screen. I thought we were very effective there. Keep him in front of you."
Given the attention paid to him by Missouri's defense, Pinson didn't force the issue. He attempted just one shot in the second half. And his teammates picked up the slack. Three other LSU players reached double figures, led by Tari Eason with 18.
4. Javon Pickett continued his hot play, but Missouri doesn't have another reliable offensive option.
Pickett scored a team-high 14 points, although it took him 16 field goal attempts to get there. He has now scored in double figures in 13 straight games in which he's been healthy.
The rest of the Missouri lineup couldn't get much doing offensively. The most glaring issue was Kobe Brown failing to make a field goal and scoring just two points. Missouri's leading scorer only attempted two shots against an LSU team that has been susceptible to big men this season.
Martin expressed frustration with Brown's lack of aggression. Missouri is now 0-13 on the season when Brown fails to score in double figures.
"I thought he had tremendous opportunities, especially when they have smaller guys (defending him)," Martin said. "And we game plan for that. When they switch, you got a smaller guy, you gotta make a play.”
A couple other Missouri starters had rough nights offensively. Gordon failed to score, while Coleman never scored again after hitting a pair of three pointers in the game's first 2:02.
5. Not too long ago, Martin could make a legitimate case that this team was getting better. It's gone the wrong way lately.
Missouri has lost four of its past five games by at least 19 points. The Tigers have now lost 10 games by at least that margin this season. It has also won 10 games. Enough said.
Star of the Game: Eason not only led LSU in scoring, but with six rebounds, as well. The stretch forward scored from three-point range, around the basket and from the free throw line, where he made all nine of his attempts.
Room for Improvement: The turnovers may have been the biggest issue for Missouri's offense, but the team didn't shoot well, either. Saturday marked the tenth time this season the Tigers have failed to top the 20 percent mark in three-point shooting. The team now ranks 354th nationally in three-point percentage.
What it means: Missouri is now assured of a bottom-four finish in the SEC, meaning it will play on the opening night of the conference tournament in Tampa Bay.
Next up: Missouri will travel to South Carolina Tuesday. The Gamecocks saw their four-game win streak snapped by Alabama on Saturday. Tipoff is set for 6 p.m.
Quotable: “It’s easier said than done, but you gotta be able to handle the pressure, get the ball over the top and make plays." -- Cuonzo Martin
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