-I meant to include this in the first-half thoughts: Zach Lowe has talked about how he can usually tell if a rookie is ready to contribute to his team right away by how well he passes -- if he makes the right reads and keeps the ball moving, he's a plus. I thought Aidan Shaw had his best pass of the season earlier in the game. He was left alone in the corner while Kobe got doubled on the wing. Kobe got the ball to him, but the pass was low. Shaw had enough space to get a shot off, but not without a hand in his face, so he chose to drive to the rim instead. LSU's defense crashed down and Shaw swung the ball back to the top of the key where Isiaih Mosley drained a 3-pointer. Shaw hasn't really gotten to show
any of his game on the perimeter this year aside from a few catch-and-shoot 3s. That play was promising, though.
-Gabe pointed out around the 13-minute mark that LSU had actually surpassed Mizzou on 3-point attempts. Which, that's not really LSU's game -- they shot 33.3% from there for the season before tonight. But they had to play that way because they were trying to catch up. That's gotta be the game plan moving forward going up against the slow teams in the conference. If you get a double-digit lead on them in the second half, they have to play with a sense of urgency they're not accustomed to. They have to try and match the pace that Mizzou plays at. Most teams can't. (Also, Mizzou only attempted four 3s in the second half lol)
-It obviously took a little longer than anticipated to finally happen, but it is really, really cool to see Isiah Mosley playing well for his hometown team and helping them win. You can tell how much it means to him by the way he plays. You can tell how much it means to the crowd, too -- a few extra decibels ring out when the fans cheer him for making a big play. It's one of the best things to watch happen in the sport.
-I believe this would've been Mizzou's best assist-to-turnover ratio game without those last two turnovers. They did a really good job of finding guys making backdoor cuts, which is a strong counter for a defense that's extending out really far because you're shooting nearly 50% from beyond the arc. They slashed LSU to ribbons.
-A special shoutout to Dave, who's the shuttle driver for the Ford service center in town and a subscriber who doesn't post very often but said he really enjoys our immediate reactions. I had to get a ride from Dave earlier this week, I think he's the first subscriber I've met in person, at least knowingly. Car trouble suuuuuucks and this week's been awful but meeting Dave made it a little better.
-This is the first time Mizzou has won three in a row since December, and the first time they've gotten to 17 wins since the 2017-18 season. I've said this in the Q&A on Monday and on the podcast today: They've got two games against Mississippi State and one against Texas A&M. They probably need to go 2-1 out of those three to maintain their place as a 7 or 8 seed in the NCAA tournament. They might move up if they win all three and they likely move down if the drop two or more. This Saturday's matchup might be the toughest of the three since it's on the road. They've got Tennesee and Auburn on the road after that -- they'll be underdogs in both. The rest of the games are must-wins because it's all the worst teams in the conference (South Carolina, Georgia, LSU again, Ole Miss again). KenPom has them going 6-3 the rest of the way, which would have them at 22-9 for the regular season.
