Smiths shoot Mizzou past Northern Kentucky zone
Missouri didn’t have much prep time for its Friday night game against Northern Kentucky. After a season-opening win over Incarnate Word on Wednesday, the Tigers had a walk-through on Thursday.
“We got in for about an hour tops yesterday night and just tried to go over as much as we could with it,” freshman forward Kobe Brown said.
When the Tigers tipped on Friday night, they were greeted by a 2-3 matchup zone from the Norse. The defense gave the Tigers a few early issues. Mizzou turned the ball over seven times in the opening 20 minutes, including three from starting point guard Dru Smith.
But Martin’s answer came from a source few might have expected. Junior big man Mitchell Smith played zone-buster for Mizzou. Smith hit a three-pointer for the Tigers’ final first half points, extending the Missouri lead to seven. He ended the night with ten points and a team-high seven rebounds as Missouri led by as many as 22 before winning 71-56.
“I'm not really surprised because he's probably the best guy flashing against the zone,” the coach said. “I think the last time you guys really saw him against a zone was in the conference tournament against Georgia, made two shots, flashed and I think that he has a lot of comfort in making decisions there. So not surprised but happy for him.”
“We see that from Mitch a lot actually in practice,” Mark Smith said. “I think that’s going to be a normal thing you guys see from Mitch this year. He’s really worked hard on his jump shot.”
Mitchell Smith finished 4-for-6 from the floor and hit both of his three-point attempts. He looks to have cemented himself as Missouri’s primary backup option when Jeremiah Tilmon needs a break. When asked where he had improved the most in the offseason, Smith said it is his outside shot.
“I really just wanted to get a lot better at that so I can stretch the floor when coach puts me at the five,” he said.
Mitchell wasn’t the only Smith loosening up the Norse zone with a smooth jumper. After missing all four of his shots in the win over Incarnate Word, Mark Smith went 6-for-10 from the floor and 4-for-7 from three on his way to a team-high 19 points.
“I’ve been confident because I put in so much work and I trust my jump shot,” Mark Smith said. “I knew it was just a matter of time before they started falling.”
“I never worried about Mark’s shot,” Martin said. “Whenever he shoots it, I think it’s going in. The biggest thing for me with Mark was not trying to get seven, eight months back in two games.”
Smith was shooting 45% from three-point range when a foot injury cut his sophomore season short after just 19 games. He said he was happy just to be healthy for the season opener, but wasn’t satisfied with the performance. While the Tigers didn’t get a lot of work in as a team between the two games, Smith, well-known as a tireless worker, was an exception.
“After Wednesday, I came in about three times Thursday just to get shots, get my legs back under me,” he said. “Today I was making them.”
Mark Smith had eight points by the first media timeout on Wednesday. That opened things up in the for others and four Tigers finish the night in double figures.
The win over the Norse clearly identified Martin’s cut-down rotation. Missouri played just nine players until the last couple of minutes despite Xavier Pinson and Dru Smith playing most of the second half with three fouls each. Five guards, Tilmon and freshman forwards Kobe Brown and Tray Jackson figured to be in that rotation. Mitchell Smith did plenty on Friday to establish himself as the final piece of the puzzle early in the season.
That Missouri was able to beat an NCAA Tournament team that returned most of its pieces from last season by 15 points on an off-night for Dru Smith (2-for-9 shooting, three assists, four turnovers in 27 minutes) should offer an early bit of optimism to Tiger fans about Martin’s third team.
“A good one,” Martin said. “You know, you wonder why you schedule it but you have you have to schedule things like this.”
The Tigers are back in action Tuesday night at Xavier.