I’m putting this out a bit earlier than I usually do and I think I’m going to keep doing that with these going forward so there’s a little more time to digest it all.
Tonight, the Missouri Tigers (15-3, 4-1 SEC) will go for their fifth consecutive win when they take on the Texas Longhorns (12-6, 1-4) at 8 p.m. in Austin (SEC Network).
Here’s a scouting report, some Mizzou notes and what I’ll be keeping an eye on during the game.
Scouting Report
Texas enters today’s matchup coming off an 84-60 loss at Florida. The Longhorns have had a heck of an entry to SEC play, opening with losses to then-No. 13 Texas A&M, then-No. 2 Auburn and then-No. 1 Tennessee before finally earning their first SEC win by beating Oklahoma before falling to then-No. 5 Florida.
In non-conference play, Texas didn’t have an overly-tough schedule, dropping a season-opener to Ohio State and later falling to UConn, while beating Syracuse as the lone power-conference win in a 11-2 run.
Texas averages 80.4 points per game and allows just 66.9, but in conference play those numbers are 69.8 points scored and 79.6 allowed per game.
The Longhorns shoot 49 percent from the field as a team, 38.2 percent from 3 and 74.6 percent at the free-throw line. They allow opponents to shoot 41.6/32.4/66.0.
Freshman guard Tre Johnson (6-foot-6, 190) leads the Longhorns with 18.6 points per game as the Tigers will face another likely one-and-done guard projected to be a lottery pick.
Senior forward Arthur Kaluma (6-7, 225), formerly at Kansas State, averages 13.8 points and a team-high 7.9 rebounds per game, while junior guard Jordan Pope (6-2, 175), formerly at Oregon State, averages 12.7 points per contest.
The Longhorns have had six players start this year. Johnson has started all 16 games he’s played, Kaluma has started all 18, as has pope and graduate forward Kadin Shedrick (6-11, 231), who averages 5.7 rebounds per game.
Graduate guard Tramon Mark (6-5, 200), who Mizzou fans might remember from his time at Arkansas, has started 11-of-14 games he has appeared in, while junior guard Chendall Weaver (6-3, 180), has started nine-of-15 games he’s played in, but is listed as out for tonight's matchup according to the SEC availability report.
Graduate guard Julian Larry (6-3, 185), formerly at Indiana State, leads the team at 3.83 assists per game and has played in all 18 games off the bench, as has senior forward Ze’Rik Onyema (6-9, 235).
This game will be the revival of a series that hasn’t had a matchup since March, 9, 2012. The Tigers lead the all-time series 14-12 and won the past three matchups, all played in 2012.
Mizzou notes: Tamar Bates is one of four players in the country scoring 10 or more points per game and shooting 50 percent overall, 35 percent from 3 and 90 percent from the free-throw line ... Missouri has made 10 or more 3-pointers in four straight games, while shooting 43.6 percent as a team ... The Tigers are fourth in the country at 10.3 steals per game ... Missouri is outscoring opponents by 11.3 points in the first half this season, and has gone into halftime with a double-digit lead in 13 games.
Matchups
Tre Johnson vs. the Tiger guards’ defense
I’m kind of copying this one from the Arkansas version of this story and Boogie Fland.
The Tigers did a fantastic job keeping Fland from having a big game, for the first time in SEC play, he didn’t score in double figures and Missouri held him to a 2-of-13 performance from the field and 0-of-4 from 3.
If the Tigers are able to keep that up against another likely lottery pick in Johnson, they should be able to roll past Texas for another solid SEC win.
Rebounding
After winning the rebounding margin the first four games in SEC play, the Tigers lost it by one to Florida and beat Arkansas by one.
Texas is averaging 30 rebounds vs. allowing 38 to opponents in SEC play.
I think this could be a game where the Tigers have a dominant performance in a spot that has turned into one of the strengths of the team in the past month.
What I'm looking for
Another fast start.
The Tigers have done a fantastic job the past few games of starting strong, specifically since putting Trent Pierce in the starting lineup.
If Missouri is able to get off to another fast start tonight, I think that run of leading for at least 38 minutes a game the past few can continue and the Tigers can use that same strategy that has led them to the best SEC start in program history to extend the winning streak to five.
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