-Russell Tchewa was bullying Mizzou inside for the early part of the first half. Mizzou didn't have much choice but to send him to the foul line most of the time - Jordan Butler and Trent Pierce weren't slowing him down. So, the defense wasn't all that much better but at the very least, it kept Georgia from shooting 3s. I thought Gates made a heady decision to go with a three-forward look (though, he was somewhat forced into it once Tamar Bates got into foul trouble).
-Once Tchewa slowed down, Georgia really struggled to figure things out on offense. I thought Mizzou's defenders did a much better job guarding the perimeter and limiting Georgia's looks for outside. That helped spark a to of good things on offense as well.
-Was this the best game of Aidan Shaw's career? I'm struggling to think of another time he had this big of an impact. A lot of it was set up by Noah Carter, who backed down his man enough times to force Georgia to start sending Tchewa to double him in the post. Shaw kept making the right decision cutting for wide-open alley-oops and his teammates did an excellent job of lobbing the up to him. Shaw also had a couple of putback dunks that really electrified the whole arena.
-Unfortunately for Mizzou, Carter went cold again and the team's inevitable scoreless stretch came at the absolute worst time possible. There just aren't enough bucket-getters with this group when Carter doesn't score. Maybe that'll change once Caleb Grill gets healthy.
-Gabe and I said on the podcast earlier this week that Mizzou could probably go around .500 if it wins at home. This was the type of game they really need to have if they want to be somewhere near the middle of the pack in the conference. Losing this game specifically - one in which they clawed all the way back from down 17 - is a huge missed opportunity.
-Once Tchewa slowed down, Georgia really struggled to figure things out on offense. I thought Mizzou's defenders did a much better job guarding the perimeter and limiting Georgia's looks for outside. That helped spark a to of good things on offense as well.
-Was this the best game of Aidan Shaw's career? I'm struggling to think of another time he had this big of an impact. A lot of it was set up by Noah Carter, who backed down his man enough times to force Georgia to start sending Tchewa to double him in the post. Shaw kept making the right decision cutting for wide-open alley-oops and his teammates did an excellent job of lobbing the up to him. Shaw also had a couple of putback dunks that really electrified the whole arena.
-Unfortunately for Mizzou, Carter went cold again and the team's inevitable scoreless stretch came at the absolute worst time possible. There just aren't enough bucket-getters with this group when Carter doesn't score. Maybe that'll change once Caleb Grill gets healthy.
-Gabe and I said on the podcast earlier this week that Mizzou could probably go around .500 if it wins at home. This was the type of game they really need to have if they want to be somewhere near the middle of the pack in the conference. Losing this game specifically - one in which they clawed all the way back from down 17 - is a huge missed opportunity.
