For a moment, I thought that Wednesday was going to be the game that Mizzou finally got it done.
The team was just about as close as it had ever been in its matchup with Florida. I thought the trajectory of the night was going to flip when Walter Clayton Jr., UF’s leading scorer, fould out fo the game. As I wrote in my game story, the Tigers pulled within one point of the Gators on five separate occasions. Florida had an answer for Missouri nearly every time it got that close. And MU had no answers for UF.
I thought head coach Dennis Gates made a good point after the game, too: it’s not like they took bad shots in those spots. It’s not like they had the wrong players taking those shots, either. We’re talking about a missed layup from Tamar Bates, or missed 3-pointers from a wide-open Sean East II or Nick Honor. They’re the best looks this offense is currently capable of generating.
But the team failed to execute every time. And yes, Mizzou didn’t lose by one possession. But taking a lead at any point could’ve been all the momentum the team needed to get its first SEC win.
It felt different Wednesday night. But it wasn’t.
The what-ifs continue to pile up. Sisyphus continues to roll his rock. The team now has three games left on its slate. Three chances to avoid going defeated.
The best opportunity seems like its next game against Ole Miss on Saturday. The Rebels are in the middle of a rough spell, losing six of their last seven, the lone win coming against the Tigers. That game was only decided by three points, 79-76, and took place in Oxford, Miss. Missouri will have homecourt advantage this time around. And credit where credit is due: the team does still have a very real homecourt advantage. The fans are still showing up despite the record. A five-point swing shouldn’t be insurmountable.
Mizzou follows it up with a Senior Night game against No. 12 Auburn. Emotions are going to be high, especially if the team is still winless by this point. The black and gold won’t lack for motivation. But it’d take an unreal performance from MU to pull off the upset. Auburn’s been one of the best teams in the league all season long and Missouri isn’t close to being on the same level at the moment.
That leaves a road game against LSU in the regular season finale. The purple and gold Tigers are beatable, but they also aren’t pushovers, going 7-8 in SEC play so far. Even last year’s MU squad had a tough time with this game on the road, allowing LSU to get off to a 19-point lead before rallying in the second half to take an 81-76 victory. Giving up a 19-point lead to anybody would all but doom the current version of Mizzou’s team.
KenPom doesn’t have Missouri favored in any of the three outings, but does still project the team to come out with a win somehow, some way. The pressure’s going to continue building until the Tigers get it done.
It’s clear that the basketball gods are displeased with Missouri.
I mean, how else do you describe what’s happened to the Tigers this season? Roster construction and coaching and on-court execution play a part, sure, but the team’s also just had flat-out rotten luck as far as the end of games and injuries. In fact, MU ranks dead last among all NCAA Division I schools in KenPom’s luck rating, which compares what a team’s projected winning percentage should be to what it actually is.
What’s not clear, however, is why the basketball gods are displeased. And I’ve been thinking about it all year and have kept a running list of possibilities. Here are my hunches, in order of which I think are the least realistic to the most:
The changes were honestly cool, so I’d guess that the basketball gods were amenable to all of them. But there’s just no way to know for sure.
The Fusion Dance is unique to Carter and Shaw. You don’t see any other players in the country pulling it off the way they do. It used to be my favorite part of the Tigers’ warmups. Now all I have to look forward to is Mizzou’s big guys posterizing the little ones.
It’s clearly not as enjoyable. And I think there’s a good chance the basketball gods have noticed.
Gates more or less started a mosh pit during Mizzou Madness in October, ending the evening by inviting the crowd to join the team on the makeshift court at The Columns and requesting for the song to be played. But it’s now been four months and I haven’t heard it played in an MU-associated loudspeaker since. I couldn’t say for certain why the song is no longer a part of the game day experience, but I’d be willing to bet some people in charge didn’t like the crowd chanting “F—k K-U!” during the instrumental breaks.
Regardless, it was clearly a part of the Tigers’ culture and the vibes have not been the same since they distanced themselves from it. Of all the changes that have happened in the last year, that one seems like it’s had the most negative impact.
The team was just about as close as it had ever been in its matchup with Florida. I thought the trajectory of the night was going to flip when Walter Clayton Jr., UF’s leading scorer, fould out fo the game. As I wrote in my game story, the Tigers pulled within one point of the Gators on five separate occasions. Florida had an answer for Missouri nearly every time it got that close. And MU had no answers for UF.
I thought head coach Dennis Gates made a good point after the game, too: it’s not like they took bad shots in those spots. It’s not like they had the wrong players taking those shots, either. We’re talking about a missed layup from Tamar Bates, or missed 3-pointers from a wide-open Sean East II or Nick Honor. They’re the best looks this offense is currently capable of generating.
But the team failed to execute every time. And yes, Mizzou didn’t lose by one possession. But taking a lead at any point could’ve been all the momentum the team needed to get its first SEC win.
It felt different Wednesday night. But it wasn’t.
The what-ifs continue to pile up. Sisyphus continues to roll his rock. The team now has three games left on its slate. Three chances to avoid going defeated.
The best opportunity seems like its next game against Ole Miss on Saturday. The Rebels are in the middle of a rough spell, losing six of their last seven, the lone win coming against the Tigers. That game was only decided by three points, 79-76, and took place in Oxford, Miss. Missouri will have homecourt advantage this time around. And credit where credit is due: the team does still have a very real homecourt advantage. The fans are still showing up despite the record. A five-point swing shouldn’t be insurmountable.
Mizzou follows it up with a Senior Night game against No. 12 Auburn. Emotions are going to be high, especially if the team is still winless by this point. The black and gold won’t lack for motivation. But it’d take an unreal performance from MU to pull off the upset. Auburn’s been one of the best teams in the league all season long and Missouri isn’t close to being on the same level at the moment.
That leaves a road game against LSU in the regular season finale. The purple and gold Tigers are beatable, but they also aren’t pushovers, going 7-8 in SEC play so far. Even last year’s MU squad had a tough time with this game on the road, allowing LSU to get off to a 19-point lead before rallying in the second half to take an 81-76 victory. Giving up a 19-point lead to anybody would all but doom the current version of Mizzou’s team.
KenPom doesn’t have Missouri favored in any of the three outings, but does still project the team to come out with a win somehow, some way. The pressure’s going to continue building until the Tigers get it done.
It’s clear that the basketball gods are displeased with Missouri.
I mean, how else do you describe what’s happened to the Tigers this season? Roster construction and coaching and on-court execution play a part, sure, but the team’s also just had flat-out rotten luck as far as the end of games and injuries. In fact, MU ranks dead last among all NCAA Division I schools in KenPom’s luck rating, which compares what a team’s projected winning percentage should be to what it actually is.
What’s not clear, however, is why the basketball gods are displeased. And I’ve been thinking about it all year and have kept a running list of possibilities. Here are my hunches, in order of which I think are the least realistic to the most:
- Matt Stahl and/or Dave Matter left the Mizzou basketball beat
- Chris Kwiecinski left the basketball beat
- Mizzou Arena replaced its yellow/gold chairs with black ones (and, to a lesser degree, the jumbotron)
The changes were honestly cool, so I’d guess that the basketball gods were amenable to all of them. But there’s just no way to know for sure.
- Noah Carter and Aidan Shaw stopped doing the Fusion Dance
The Fusion Dance is unique to Carter and Shaw. You don’t see any other players in the country pulling it off the way they do. It used to be my favorite part of the Tigers’ warmups. Now all I have to look forward to is Mizzou’s big guys posterizing the little ones.
It’s clearly not as enjoyable. And I think there’s a good chance the basketball gods have noticed.
- “Mr. Brightside” is no longer played during games
Gates more or less started a mosh pit during Mizzou Madness in October, ending the evening by inviting the crowd to join the team on the makeshift court at The Columns and requesting for the song to be played. But it’s now been four months and I haven’t heard it played in an MU-associated loudspeaker since. I couldn’t say for certain why the song is no longer a part of the game day experience, but I’d be willing to bet some people in charge didn’t like the crowd chanting “F—k K-U!” during the instrumental breaks.
Regardless, it was clearly a part of the Tigers’ culture and the vibes have not been the same since they distanced themselves from it. Of all the changes that have happened in the last year, that one seems like it’s had the most negative impact.
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