At the risk of burying the lede, I'll save Sam Horn's inevitable callup to the Major Leagues for later in the Thoughts. But there's plenty going on so let's get to it.
1) Missouri's loss to Texas A&M was disappointing, but doesn't have to be anything worse than that. The more I think about it, the more I think most of us have failed to give the Aggies enough credit. It's one of those "We should never lose to Texas A&M in basketball" type things. We don't expect A&M to be good in basketball because it usually isn't all that good. But the Aggies are good. And more than anything, they're tough. They play a style that gives Missouri trouble. The Tigers need to shoot the ball well to win. The Aggies don't. In the two games this year, they've been able to enforce their will and their pace on Missouri. And it happened again on Saturday night. I'm willing to write Saturday off to a bad matchup against a team that more of us (myself included) should have seen as a bad matchup. I'm also willing ratchet up the concern a level in about 36 hours. The next game is against Mississippi State, which I'd term as Texas A&M Lite. They aren't as good as the Aggies and they don't have as much talent. But they play a similar style and if they can force Missouri to play that style, the Tigers haven't proven they can win.
2) A couple of weeks ago, Dennis Gates said Kobe Brown can't have a bad day. The numbers bear that out. Brown has played in 26 of Missouri's 27 games. He sat out the loss to Alabama. He has scored in double figures in 20 of the 26. But five of the six in which he was held under ten were non-conference games. Since Braggin' Rights, the only time Brown hasn't had at least ten points was in the loss to Auburn. In 15 games since December 17, Brown is averaging 19 points per game.
In Missouri's nine wins: 22.2 points, 7 rebounds, 3.8 assists, 2 steals in 33.2 minutes per game
In Missouri's six losses (plus one DNP): 14.2 points, 5.2 rebounds, 1.7 assists, 1.5 steals in 29.5 minutes per game
Brown was great against A&M on Saturday. He had 24 points, 6 rebounds and 3 steals. Take that game away and in the other five conference losses in which he has played he is averaging 12.2 points, 3.4 rebounds, 2 assists and 1.2 steals. So there's definitely a direct correlation: When Brown's production dips, Missouri loses. He's had 20 points in two of the six losses (Florida and the home game against A&M), but is averaging just 10.5 in the other four.
3) But it's not all Brown. When this team is good, he's had some help.
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