Stats that stood out against Tennessee
Mizzou's offense and ATOs
Tennessee is one of the toughest defenses in the nation. The Volunteers are third in the country allowing 57.5 points per game and third in the nation in KenPom’s adjusted defensive efficiency rating, allowing 87.9 points per 100 possessions against the average opponent.
Yet, two times now, Mizzou’s offense has pushed Tennessee’s vaunted defense past its limits. The Volunteers have given up 70 points in six games this season. Two of those outings were against the Tigers, the most recent coming in a 79-71 loss to Mizzou on Friday in the SEC quarterfinals.
Senior forward Kobe Brown scored 21 points in the team’s first meeting with Tennessee, an 86-85 road win on Feb. 11. Brown was second on the team with 24 points against the Volunteers on Friday, trailing only senior guard D’Moi Hodge with 26. Players have had 20-point performances against Tennessee just 11 times this year — Brown and Hodge account for three of them.
“I feel like they do guard the ball well, as far as trying to penetrate and keep us from coming in,” Hodge said. “But the way we play offense, we always skip, so we know the gaps. We practice every day, so we know where we're gonna get the open shots. We just had to knock them down.”
One way the Tigers were able to attack the Volunteers’ defense on Friday was by executing their after-timeout (ATO) plays. There were 13 timeouts called during the SEC tournament matchup. Tennessee had possession of the ball coming out of five of them. But in the other eight, Missouri found the hoop five times.
The Tigers missed their first two ATO shots, but scored on the third. Volunteers senior guard Josiah-Jordan James was whistled for a deadball foul, triggering a timeout on the floor and allowing Mizzou to take two free throws and retain possession of the ball. Senior point guard Sean East II went 1-2 on his foul shots and Brown dropped in a layup with the following possession to make it a 3-point swing.
Hodge was the main beneficiary of the team’s ATO plays in the second half, connecting twice for five points. Excluding East’s free throw, MU finished the game scoring 12 points on ATO plays, all of them coming from Brown and Hodge.
During an unofficial timeout in which officials were reviewing an out-of-bounds call with 1:41 left in the game, head coach Dennis Gates said the players coached themselves. By the time he stepped into the huddle, they already knew what play they were going to run. It resulted in a 3-pointer from the left wing by Hodge that put the Tigers up by two scores, 75-69.
“The only thing that we did well tonight, one thing we did well tonight, was after timeouts, we were able to execute offensively,” Gates said. “Every time I called a timeout, our guys locked in and executed … I'm proud of that. I'm excited about what I see because I don't think we have played our very best yet this season. Hopefully, you want to peak at the right time.”
The No. 4 seed Tigers will look to keep its offense rolling when it faces No. 1 seed Alabama in the SEC semifinals on Saturday at noon CT.
Stay up to date on all the Mizzou news with your premium subscription
Talk about this story and more in The Tigers' Lair
Make sure you're caught up on all the Tiger news and headlines
Subscribe to our YouTube Channel for video and live streaming coverage
Everyone on here already has insurance (or they should). Everyone on here also cheers for the Tigers (or they should). In college sports the hot button issue is NIL. A school can no longer compete the way they did just a few short years ago without a robust NIL collective. In our economy, the hot button issue is inflation. Here’s your opportunity to see about saving money on something that the state requires you to have on your car and your lender requires you to have on your house. Oh and by the way, just a quote from James’s office will get a donation on your behalf to PowerMizzou's fund with Every True Tiger Foundation, Mizzou’s preferred NIL collective. Blink if you like saving money. Blink twice if you want to do everything you can to position your favorite college program to be as competitive in the SEC as possible. Give James’s office a call at 314-961-4800 or get a quote online at carltoninsurance.net.
“If your insurance costs a leg and an arm, call James Carlton State Farm.”
