Simply winning games doesn’t cut it for Mizzou basketball these days. After three seasons in which winning a game like the one it played Tuesday night would be an accomplishment to celebrate, Mizzou players are quickly learning that is no longer the case.
The Tigers didn’t play a particularly pretty brand of basketball Tuesday night in their 70-51 win over Miami (Ohio), but they did hold the Redhawks to just 32 percent shooting — including 21 percent from behind the arc — as they won their seventh game of the season, just one short of the total from all of last season. To put it bluntly, none of that really made much of a difference to coach Cuonzo Martin.
“We won the ballgame, did enough to win the game,” Martin said in his opening statement.
Nothing more, nothing less.
Martin fielded a range of questions after the game about the performances of Jordan Barnett (15 points, 8 rebounds), Kevin Puryear (20 points on 6-of-8 shooting) and Jordan Geist (four assists, three rebounds and no turnovers in 15 minutes), but the response was the same. They did the bare minimum of what was expected, but that’s it. In the case of Barnett, Martin wasn’t just apathetic about his performance, he wasn’t happy with it period.
“I didn’t think Barnett played a great game,” Martin said. “Fifteen and eight, but I don’t think he played very well at all.”
According to the coach, Jeremiah Tilmon wasn't assertive, Geist wasn't good enough on defense and nobody seemed to live up the standard that is now--suddenly--expected.
As a whole, Mizzou played the type of unselfish basketball Martin expects on the offensive end of the floor, dishing out 17 assists. But it also turned the ball over 17 times, a trend that has plagued the Tigers early this season. Tuesday night, Mizzou had three separate five-minute stretches with four turnovers apiece, but it didn’t end up costing them because Miami couldn’t capitalize. But against better teams West Virginia, who turned Mizzou over nine times in a four-minute span, those turnovers can and have proven costly.
“We’ve been emphasizing it in practice a whole lot, especially coach,” senior guard Kassius Robertson said. “We know we’re a much different team when we take care of the ball. Any team really, we give them a chance to be in the game (when we turn it over), and that’s kind of why they came back a little bit when we went on that turnover run. We gotta clean that up if we want to be a successful team.”
TURNING POINT: Mizzou’s 16-5 run to close the half. The majority of the first half was a brutal mishmash of bad shots and turnovers on both ends, but Mizzou finally kicked into gear late in the half and put some distance between themselves and the Redhawks.
IT WAS OVER WHEN: An 8-0 run put Mizzou up 20 with 3:04 to go in the second half. The outcome was never really in doubt, but Miami was able to cut Mizzou’s lead to 12 with 5:35 to go. A quick 8-0 run to extend the lead back to 20 ended all hopes of this one being interesting.
CAUSE FOR OPTIMISM: Defense. Miami is by no means one of the better offensive teams in the country, but Mizzou held them to just 32 percent shooting for the night and just 21 percent from 3-point range. Cuonzo Martin preaches defense, and the Tigers currently rank in the top-60 nationally in field goal percentage defense.
CAUSE FOR CONCERN: Turnovers. Again. Mizzou turned the ball over 17 times Tuesday night, including nine in the first half. Miami didn’t put a particularly high amount of pressure on the ball, but the Tigers — especially guards Blake Harris, Terrence Phillips and Kassius Robertson — struggled to make routine plays. Jordan Geist was a bright spot with four assists and no turnovers, but Mizzou, which ranked 272nd nationally in turnovers per game coming in, will have to find someone who can handle the ball on regular basis.
STOCK UP: Kevin Puryear. The junior scored a season-high 20 points after scoring just four in Mizzou’s win over UCF last week. Puryear said before the season that he had worked on improving his outside game, and it shows. He is Mizzou’s best three-point shooter percentage-wise as 45 percent, just ahead of Robertson.
STOCK DOWN: Terrence Phillips. He played just seven minutes Tuesday night, and in those seven minutes, he turned the ball over twice and committed a foul. Martin has had a short leash with players early this season, especially his point guards, but Phillips’ seems to be on thinner ice than Geist or Harris. Martin said after the game that he’ll continue to give minutes to whichever guards earn it, but as of right now, expect to see more of Geist, Harris and Robertson handling the ball.
UP NEXT: Mizzou returns to the court Saturday to face Green Bay (RPI 334, KenPom 277) Saturday night at 8 p.m. The Phoenix (2-4) were picked fifth in the Horizon League preseason poll and are coming off back-to-back losses to Stetson and Belmont.
