Stats that stood out against Kansas
Tigers can’t capitalize on easy chances
Going into Saturday’s Border War against No. 6 Kansas, Mizzou was one of the best teams in the nation at finishing at the rim, shooting 63.8% on 2-pointers through their first nine games of the season. The Tigers had also established themselves as an above-average team at the free throw line, knocking down 76.2% of their foul shots.
But the looks that usually came with the least amount of difficulty for Missouri weren’t falling nearly as often against the Jayhawks. Mizzou shot made just 17-37 from inside the arc in Saturday’s game, or 46.0%, going 14-24 on layups. The teams also went 15-23 at the stripe, sinking just 65.2%. Both percentages were the Tigers’ lowest of the year.
“We did not execute in the paint at all,” head coach Dennis Gates said. “And I thought we suffered, whether it was being discouraged, not coming away with foul shots, not executing on a line at the level that I wanted us to do.”
It was disheartening to the team because Mizzou actually did a better job than Kansas both on the glass and at earning trips to the line. The Tigers had 12 offensive rebounds to the Jayhawks’ eight, but Kansas finished with eight second-chance points to Missouri’s four. Kansas had more defensive rebounds, but Mizzou secured a higher percentage of them per KenPom, grabbing 72.4% of misses on defense to the Jayhawks’ 69.2%. And though the Tigers had four extra free throw attempts, both teams finished the night connecting on 15 foul shots.
It still would’ve taken a lot more for Mizzou to pick up the win over a top-10 team in the country, especially on the defensive end. But if the Tigers hope to pull off an upset over No. 17 Illinois, No. 16 Kentucky or No. 9 Arkansas, all of whom they’ll play in the next four games, they’ll have to convert on the easy looks that are presented to them.
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