*There's just not much to say, guys. They aren't any good. We knew that. At this point, if you're watching and expecting anything different, that's kind of on you. Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me nine times, I'm a complete moron. I'm not saying that means you should be happy about it. Of course not. But watching and letting it make you mad every game simply isn't healthy. My advice would be to watch the games if you want, have no expectations and be pleasantly surprised if anything other than another identical mind-numbing loss occurs.
*Missouri had four players combine for 57 of its 61 points. Sean East and Noah Carter combined for 21 of the 29 in the first half. East got hurt and missed a few minutes, wasn't super effective in the second half. Tamar Bates and Nick Honor combined for 24 of the 32 in the second half (Carter had six of the remaining eight). Aidan Shaw scored two but fouled out in 11 minutes. Curt Lewis scored the other two. He isn't the guy I'd pick to take the three-pointer in a five point game with 1:25 left, but you have to have five guys on the floor and if you're on the floor you have to be ready to contribute.
*Mabor Majak played 19 minutes. That's a career high. I asked if that was about Gates liking what he had done or if it was about other guys not showing him enough. Both Gates and Carter immediately said he had earned it. He wasn't great. He is no threat whatsoever offensively. But he played hard, he grabbed some offensive rebounds and he had some energy. Unfortunately right now, that's enough to get minutes.
*We overanalyze basketball. When the shots go in, you can look great. When they don't, you can look awful. Often times, they're the same shots. Missouri had open shots today. They had shots they have to make to win games. They didn't make them. It's no more complex than that. In a one-point game with 1:57 to go, Vanderbilt had guys make back to back tough, contested shots. Vandy made plays when it had to, Missouri didn't. Ballgame.
*0-18 is in play. I said at the beginning of the week that if they lost these two, I'd entertain 0-18. They did. The odds still say they won't, but if you can't beat Arkansas at home or Vandy on the road, I don't know who you can expect to beat. They're saying the right things about still being confident and believing, but there's absolutely no way they don't expect to lose at the first sign of adversity. They can't do enough to overcome that adversity and they can't sustain success. Up 20-9 with 13:40 left in the first half, they had a chance to bury Vandy. I told Drew King they'd go six minutes without a point and trail before halftime. The next basket came 6:01 later and they lost the lead at 25-24. After starting 9/13, at one point Mizzou went 3 for its next 21 and 6 for its next 32. And that's the story of how they lost today, which is very similar to the story of how they've lost a lot of other times.
*One final thought: Vanderbilt should be mandated to update its facilities if it wants to remain in the SEC. I'm not normally a person who complains about this stuff a lot because nobody cares and as long as I can talk to who I need to talk to and see the game, cool. But they sit the media in the rafters (despite the fact there are only five of us here). You can't see the floor or the scoreboard without adjusting how you sit. You have to go two floors down to find a bathroom. From the media room, you have to go two floors up. It's ridiculous. I'm not asking to be coddled, but it's bar none the worst place I've ever covered a game in either sport. Would not recommend, will not return.
Press conference is on the front page, Drew is working on a notebook, then we're gonna grab dinner and drive home in the morning. Discuss...
*Missouri had four players combine for 57 of its 61 points. Sean East and Noah Carter combined for 21 of the 29 in the first half. East got hurt and missed a few minutes, wasn't super effective in the second half. Tamar Bates and Nick Honor combined for 24 of the 32 in the second half (Carter had six of the remaining eight). Aidan Shaw scored two but fouled out in 11 minutes. Curt Lewis scored the other two. He isn't the guy I'd pick to take the three-pointer in a five point game with 1:25 left, but you have to have five guys on the floor and if you're on the floor you have to be ready to contribute.
*Mabor Majak played 19 minutes. That's a career high. I asked if that was about Gates liking what he had done or if it was about other guys not showing him enough. Both Gates and Carter immediately said he had earned it. He wasn't great. He is no threat whatsoever offensively. But he played hard, he grabbed some offensive rebounds and he had some energy. Unfortunately right now, that's enough to get minutes.
*We overanalyze basketball. When the shots go in, you can look great. When they don't, you can look awful. Often times, they're the same shots. Missouri had open shots today. They had shots they have to make to win games. They didn't make them. It's no more complex than that. In a one-point game with 1:57 to go, Vanderbilt had guys make back to back tough, contested shots. Vandy made plays when it had to, Missouri didn't. Ballgame.
*0-18 is in play. I said at the beginning of the week that if they lost these two, I'd entertain 0-18. They did. The odds still say they won't, but if you can't beat Arkansas at home or Vandy on the road, I don't know who you can expect to beat. They're saying the right things about still being confident and believing, but there's absolutely no way they don't expect to lose at the first sign of adversity. They can't do enough to overcome that adversity and they can't sustain success. Up 20-9 with 13:40 left in the first half, they had a chance to bury Vandy. I told Drew King they'd go six minutes without a point and trail before halftime. The next basket came 6:01 later and they lost the lead at 25-24. After starting 9/13, at one point Mizzou went 3 for its next 21 and 6 for its next 32. And that's the story of how they lost today, which is very similar to the story of how they've lost a lot of other times.
*One final thought: Vanderbilt should be mandated to update its facilities if it wants to remain in the SEC. I'm not normally a person who complains about this stuff a lot because nobody cares and as long as I can talk to who I need to talk to and see the game, cool. But they sit the media in the rafters (despite the fact there are only five of us here). You can't see the floor or the scoreboard without adjusting how you sit. You have to go two floors down to find a bathroom. From the media room, you have to go two floors up. It's ridiculous. I'm not asking to be coddled, but it's bar none the worst place I've ever covered a game in either sport. Would not recommend, will not return.
Press conference is on the front page, Drew is working on a notebook, then we're gonna grab dinner and drive home in the morning. Discuss...
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