Gates keeps turning to the bench for a spark
Mizzou picked up its fourth-straight victory on Saturday by beating Ole Miss in the regular season finale, 82-77. It did so bringing four players off the bench for a combined 64 minutes.
The Tigers’ reserves played a major part in the team’s win over the Rebels. Missouri had 29 bench points to Ole Miss’ 12. In a game decided by five points, it made the difference. Senior forward Noah Carter and freshman forward Aidan Shaw both ended up closing out the game for MU, with head coach Dennis Gates subbing in Carter for offensive possessions and Shaw for defense in the final few minutes.
Gates was especially proud of what he saw out of Carter.
“I want him to play with confidence, that's the most important thing,” Gates said. “I don't like it when he gets frustrated, I don't like it when he tries to be perfect because that's not the game of basketball. I want guys to go out there and enjoy themselves, but also read the game the right way. And he read the game the right way.”
The ability to lean on the bench speaks to the depth that the Tigers have. Eleven different players have cracked the starting lineup this season. According to KenPom, reserves use up 33.4% of available minutes, which ranks 112th in the country. It’s been particularly important playing in the SEC, where several teams go deep into the bench — despite being in the top third in the country in bench minutes, Mizzou ranks just eighth in the conference.
Missouri will hope its reserves continue to step up as it enters the postseason, beginning with a quarterfinal matchup in the SEC tournament on Friday at 2:30 p.m. CT in Nashville, Tenn.
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