BASKETBALL POST-GAME THOUGHTS: MIZZOU 92, PENN 85
- By GabeD
- The Tiger Walk
- 83 Replies
*I don’t know how good this team is. But if you’re going to be mediocre, I’d rather watch 92-85 than 58-55. Personal preference.
*This team can score. First time they’ve hit 90 in back to back games since Nov 23 and 24 of 2017. Those were the fifth and sixth games Cuonzo Martin coached.
*Dennis Gates told us after the last game Noah Carter was not an 0/4 three-point shooter. He was correct. Carter was 6/9 and at least two of the misses were pure heat checks. Carter had two seasons at Northern Iowa where he averaged 20 points so you know he’s capable of filling it up. Missouri needed every bit of it tonight.
*Carter, Kobe Brown and D’Moi Hodge are Missouri’s three best players that I’ve actually seen (more on that shortly). Nick Honor is a steady point guard and is going to get a lot of minutes. So the question then becomes who’s the fifth guy that plays in the important minutes. I don’t care who’s on the floor for the first four as much as the last four. Feels like Isiaih Mosley could eventually be in that mix along with Aidan Shaw and Tre Gomillion.
*Gomillion is never going to jump out at anybody, but man he made some big plays for Missouri tonight. His second half: 10 points, 4 rebounds, 2 assists and a steal. He's the ultimate glue guy.
*As a team, Missouri had 20 assists on 28 field goals and just nine turnovers. You’ll take those numbers every single night. The Tigers also turned 19 Penn turnovers into 29 points. Honestly, looking at those numbers it’s kind of tough to figure out why this game was as close as it was.
*The rebounding, well, that’s an issue. Mizzou got beat 37-29 on the boards and gave up 19 second chance points. Against Penn. That’s concerning. Kobe Brown did not have a single rebound in 20 minutes. Gates said after the last game the rebounding had to be more than Kobe. True. But it has to be Kobe too. I’m not laying it all on him, but there’s no way he should finish a game without a rebound.
*Missouri’s opponents are now 31/62 from three-point range through two games. Part of you says that can’t continue. And I do think it’s still a little bit fluky. But two games in a row at least makes you pay attention. If it happens again on Sunday against Lindenwood, well, that’s a full-on trend.
*Isiaih Mosley was available according to Gates. I asked if there was a reason he didn’t play and Gates said a lot of guys didn’t play (and then listed them all). Is it odd? Sure. Is there a message being sent? Quite possible. But he isn’t going to tell us what it was. If he was suspended, Gates didn’t say that. My personal opinion: Gates isn't gonna flat out lie to us so I don't think he was suspended or anything. I think Mosley is on a team where he can't just shoot the ball any time he wants and take possessions off on defense for the first time in his life. I think there's clearly talent there, but Gates is gonna need him to buy in and get him to be the type of player he needs. And that's a different type of player than he was at Rock Bridge or Missouri State because this is a different level of basketball. It's not just about talent and points.
*It feels like Gates is sending some messages, trying to teach some lessons and establish a culture early on here. That makes sense. New coaches need to do that. Make them understand what’s required to play here and that he’s their coach, not their friend. Most coaches would even be willing to sacrifice a win to get that message across, even if fans wouldn’t. Fortunately, Gates didn’t have to. He was able to send a message and win at the same time.
*Obviously they’ll need Mosley this year. But Mizzou has had ten double-figure scoring games so far and he hasn’t been one of them. They’ve got guys who can make baskets. The way to earn more minutes on this team isn’t necessarily scoring. They’re okay there. The way to get on the floor is defense and rebounding. The guys who do that consistently over the next two to three weeks are the guys who are going to get the bulk of the minutes.
*Penn coach Steve Donohue called Tre Gomillion and D’Moi Hodge “elite defenders.” He said coming into the game he wasn’t sure how good Missouri’s half court offense was. He said he knew they could run but didn’t know what to expect when you forced them into the half court. He said it’s probably a good sign for Missouri that they were able to play the way they did tonight.
*Auburn struggled with South Florida tonight. Michigan is currently trailing Eastern Michigan. Villanova lost to Temple and Vandy lost by 12 to a Southern Miss team ranked in the 300s in KenPom. It’s early season college basketball. Things happen. The only true goal is to win these games. Have I seen anything that tells me Missouri is great in the first two games? No. But nothing that’s happened has proven they’re awful either. They need to be 7-0 when they face Wichita State. Tonight was probably the biggest hurdle to getting there.
*I find it interesting how open Gates has been about the process. After the USI game he talked about how he could have switched defenses and fixed some things, but he wanted guys to figure it out. Then tonight he said he relies on his players to tell him when they’re tired and need a break. And he relies on them to tell him when they’re ready to come back in. He wants guys to play to fatigue and he said a couple of the lulls he thinks has come from guys who are used to playing 30 minutes a game at a slower pace not realizing soon enough that they’re fatigued. Really interesting process like stuff that he’s thinking about during a game that we probably aren’t.
*Kickoff's in 13 hours, so I’m wrapping early. Drew King will have full coverage for you coming forth.
*This team can score. First time they’ve hit 90 in back to back games since Nov 23 and 24 of 2017. Those were the fifth and sixth games Cuonzo Martin coached.
*Dennis Gates told us after the last game Noah Carter was not an 0/4 three-point shooter. He was correct. Carter was 6/9 and at least two of the misses were pure heat checks. Carter had two seasons at Northern Iowa where he averaged 20 points so you know he’s capable of filling it up. Missouri needed every bit of it tonight.
*Carter, Kobe Brown and D’Moi Hodge are Missouri’s three best players that I’ve actually seen (more on that shortly). Nick Honor is a steady point guard and is going to get a lot of minutes. So the question then becomes who’s the fifth guy that plays in the important minutes. I don’t care who’s on the floor for the first four as much as the last four. Feels like Isiaih Mosley could eventually be in that mix along with Aidan Shaw and Tre Gomillion.
*Gomillion is never going to jump out at anybody, but man he made some big plays for Missouri tonight. His second half: 10 points, 4 rebounds, 2 assists and a steal. He's the ultimate glue guy.
*As a team, Missouri had 20 assists on 28 field goals and just nine turnovers. You’ll take those numbers every single night. The Tigers also turned 19 Penn turnovers into 29 points. Honestly, looking at those numbers it’s kind of tough to figure out why this game was as close as it was.
*The rebounding, well, that’s an issue. Mizzou got beat 37-29 on the boards and gave up 19 second chance points. Against Penn. That’s concerning. Kobe Brown did not have a single rebound in 20 minutes. Gates said after the last game the rebounding had to be more than Kobe. True. But it has to be Kobe too. I’m not laying it all on him, but there’s no way he should finish a game without a rebound.
*Missouri’s opponents are now 31/62 from three-point range through two games. Part of you says that can’t continue. And I do think it’s still a little bit fluky. But two games in a row at least makes you pay attention. If it happens again on Sunday against Lindenwood, well, that’s a full-on trend.
*Isiaih Mosley was available according to Gates. I asked if there was a reason he didn’t play and Gates said a lot of guys didn’t play (and then listed them all). Is it odd? Sure. Is there a message being sent? Quite possible. But he isn’t going to tell us what it was. If he was suspended, Gates didn’t say that. My personal opinion: Gates isn't gonna flat out lie to us so I don't think he was suspended or anything. I think Mosley is on a team where he can't just shoot the ball any time he wants and take possessions off on defense for the first time in his life. I think there's clearly talent there, but Gates is gonna need him to buy in and get him to be the type of player he needs. And that's a different type of player than he was at Rock Bridge or Missouri State because this is a different level of basketball. It's not just about talent and points.
*It feels like Gates is sending some messages, trying to teach some lessons and establish a culture early on here. That makes sense. New coaches need to do that. Make them understand what’s required to play here and that he’s their coach, not their friend. Most coaches would even be willing to sacrifice a win to get that message across, even if fans wouldn’t. Fortunately, Gates didn’t have to. He was able to send a message and win at the same time.
*Obviously they’ll need Mosley this year. But Mizzou has had ten double-figure scoring games so far and he hasn’t been one of them. They’ve got guys who can make baskets. The way to earn more minutes on this team isn’t necessarily scoring. They’re okay there. The way to get on the floor is defense and rebounding. The guys who do that consistently over the next two to three weeks are the guys who are going to get the bulk of the minutes.
*Penn coach Steve Donohue called Tre Gomillion and D’Moi Hodge “elite defenders.” He said coming into the game he wasn’t sure how good Missouri’s half court offense was. He said he knew they could run but didn’t know what to expect when you forced them into the half court. He said it’s probably a good sign for Missouri that they were able to play the way they did tonight.
*Auburn struggled with South Florida tonight. Michigan is currently trailing Eastern Michigan. Villanova lost to Temple and Vandy lost by 12 to a Southern Miss team ranked in the 300s in KenPom. It’s early season college basketball. Things happen. The only true goal is to win these games. Have I seen anything that tells me Missouri is great in the first two games? No. But nothing that’s happened has proven they’re awful either. They need to be 7-0 when they face Wichita State. Tonight was probably the biggest hurdle to getting there.
*I find it interesting how open Gates has been about the process. After the USI game he talked about how he could have switched defenses and fixed some things, but he wanted guys to figure it out. Then tonight he said he relies on his players to tell him when they’re tired and need a break. And he relies on them to tell him when they’re ready to come back in. He wants guys to play to fatigue and he said a couple of the lulls he thinks has come from guys who are used to playing 30 minutes a game at a slower pace not realizing soon enough that they’re fatigued. Really interesting process like stuff that he’s thinking about during a game that we probably aren’t.
*Kickoff's in 13 hours, so I’m wrapping early. Drew King will have full coverage for you coming forth.
NEW STORY 573 TEES POSTGAME REPORT
- By GabeD
- The Tiger Walk
- 0 Replies
Going live in a few minutes @JHamilton23 will join after interviews
missouri.rivals.com
PowerMizzou - 573 Tees Post-Game Live Report: Tennessee
Join us for live from the press box post-game reaction after Mizzou's game against Tennessee.
missouri.rivals.com
