Ten Thoughts for Monday Morning
1) Missouri won another basketball game on Saturday, its first game in 11 days. The Tigers were rusty to begin with, but were facing one of the few teams that wasn't capable of burying them while Missouri figured things out in the first 16 minutes. Mizzou shot 44% (not great, but not horrible) in the first half, but had ten turnovers. The Tigers scored only 27 points in the first 20 minutes. The issue is that Texas A&M (as is the Aggies' MO) was even worse offensively. A&M shot just 31.3% from the floor and had seven turnovers of its own in the first half, going the final 2:20 without a point as Mizzou finished on a 10-0 run. At that point, it seemed pretty obvious that A&M had lost its chance to build up a lead and make things tough on the Tigers.
Sometimes, it's not just about how you play, but about who you're playing. If Missouri played that half against Tennessee or LSU or Alabama or a few others, the deficit probably would have been too big to make up. Against A&M, it wasn't. Missouri had to know if it could score 60 it would probably win this game. It takes some pressure off. In the second half, Mizzou figured things out offensively, shooting 53.3% from the floor and turning it over just four times. The Aggies got better in one sense, shooting 45%, but far worse in another. A&M took only 20 shots in the second half because it committed ten turnovers. Missouri obviously deserves some credit for that (as A&M does Mizzou's first half struggles), but not all the credit. A&M just isn't any good offensively.
We use the term "playing down to the competition" a lot in sports. It's often meant as an insult, but the fact is, if you get away with it, it doesn't really matter. You're not going to play your best every game. The key is to play your best when you have to and survive when you don't have to. I'd argue Missouri has done that more often than it hasn't. I think the Tennessee game was a loss probably even if Mizzou had played well. Against Mississippi State, Mizzou played down and it bit them (the Bulldogs are, however, 4-2 in the league and maybe better than we gave them credit for). But other than that, Missouri has still managed to win with something less than its A game a handful of times already. That's a valuable skill to have. At the end of the season, the only thing that matters is the record, not the way you got to that record. Good teams win when the play well. Great teams win even when they don't play well.
2) We've beaten the three-point shooting nearly to death, but it's worth talking about some more after that game. Mizzou went 6-22 from three-point range, a less than dazzling--but right about on par for the season--27.3%. But the Tigers were 21-33 from two-point range, which comes out to 63.6%. In the second half, the difference was even bigger. Mizzou was 3-13 from three (23.1%) but 13-17 from two (76.5%). For the season, Missouri is 330th in the country in three-point percentage (27.3). But it is 35th in two-point percentage (55.4).
Some will look at that and say "Just stop shooting threes altogether." I agree they should probably shoot fewer of them. But you can't just stop. It's like a football team throwing deep. Sometimes you have to do it even if it doesn't work just to make the other team think you are willing to do it. I don't think Missouri needs to shoot 21 threes a game (that's the season average), but it has to shoot some. I think if you could bring that average down to 12-15 a game, that's probably a good range for this team.
3) The majority of the angst I've seen has been directed at Mark Smith.
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
Whether you are looking for more space to host those game day parties or looking to upgrade, Stein & Summers is your #1 fan in helping you find the home of your dreams! We have over 100 licensed agents servicing Kansas City, St. Joseph, and surrounding areas - including Kansas! Interest rates are at a record low while homes sales prices are at a record high! Contact us today to get started.