When speaking about Ulysses Grant after the public was calling for him to be removed bc of the carnage he was inflicting and casualties on the Union side bc of his strategies....Lincoln said....'I cannot spare this man - he fights' ...Grant's thing was no negotiations...Unconditional surrender...Until then, they fight.

When I watch this team this year for whatever reason this keeps coming to mind. They havent laid down in any game this year - they keep being themselves regardless of the situation. From the opening tip to the final buzzer they are 'all in' and I love watching it. I expect that they will continue this mentality until whenever the ride ends this year. And I love that Gates has formed this team to have this approach. Never stop fighting. Even on the boards where we have struggled it isnt because of the effort. Maybe technique or size but not the effort. Now lets keep pushing...LFG tigers.

SEE YAH BUNGLES!!!!

Leading Houston by 6 with 10 to go. They've been hanging on the edge of quad 2, this would go a long way to keeping them there.

-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.

I got in my car yesterday morning to head to work and 101 ESPN was on. They teased that they were going to talk about tiger basketball after the break, so I stayed on the station.

After patiently sitting through some poorly phoned in advertisements for Fenton Bar and Grill, during the segment, they all agreed that while Slu is a “great team this year,” Mizzou is “probably” better and their absolute ceiling is an eight or nine seed “if they play really well from here and don’t get blown out by any of the good teams they have left on the schedule.”

It was the most clueless, I’ve clearly not watched more than four minutes of Mizzou play this year, quintessential St. Louis dog shit sports radio.

This is, in part, the fault of Mizzou Athletics. I don’t care what The Big 550 is paying the AD, awarding a radio station that no one can even listen to because of interference in the middle of the densest parts of the largest metro in your state is moronic. Give the contract to the local sports station and then they actually have to cover you.

I’m in Mexico City right now and I have a textile producer ready to make some Sarape’s/jorongo’s (woven ponchos commonly associated with Latin culture) with the Mizzou logo(s) on them…if anyone is interested, let me know and tell me what logo you want…I’m having them made with the sailor tiger logo for myself…but if you want another I am willing to do that too.

Who is the big guy behind the basketball bench. Is he a recruit? Have seen him behind the bench at many of the games.

I am getting a bit tired of hearing about this. If you have watched ANY basketball outside of MU this year you see that EVERY college basketball team is flawed with the exception of one (Purdue) or maybe two (Alabama and they got their @$$ handed to them last Saturday).

Rebounding. The team was smaller and quite frankly did not have great rebounders earlier in the year. Diarra, a guy I did not think would help this year, has really started to help with that. Mosley is also a much better rebounder than many give him credit for. He is 6'5" and when he goes for a rebound he always secures them with two hands. Those two make us a much better rebounding team than we have been.

Defense. This gets talked about A LOT. The defense has changed a lot from early in the season. Trapping differently. Zone. But, an important nuance I saw them working on last night, was not switching on every pick and roll. Last night Honor and some of the other guards fought around the pick with the big hedging instead of just switching. It was a small move, but big in this respect. When we switch all of the time the other team has a mismatch in the paint right off the bat. Teams were running a high pick and roll for this early in their offenses. You could then have a big with a mismatch against a guard in the lane, but it also meant some of our worst defenders on the wing (Carter and Gholston) would be guarding wing players and they often got back door cut. There was none of that last night because we stopped just switching in the second half. The defense has improved more and can do more than many on here realize. I believe that is by design. You don't have to be a great defensive team, but you do have to know how to play multiple ways to get a stop. That helps you in the NCAA tournament. Especially when you have worked on this during the season. It also means you give up a few more points while working on those things, but you are better prepared for different styles when you get to the tourney.

All of that to say this, this team is NOT flawed. It knows the identity it has and maximizes that identity because that plays to its strengths. To continuously say the team is "flawed" is like saying someone is missing out on money because their is an unlimited amount of quarters and five dollar bills and someone decided to pick up all of the five dollar bills they could instead of the quarters.

Just my rant. Looking forward to the next few games.

M-I-Z!!!

Been several years since I’ve been to the arena. Anyone have advice/direction on what I can expect for general parking and distance to walk to the arena? Also, wife and I love Flat Branch. Is it realistic to grab a bite when they open at 11 and have time for parking, walking, etc?
Thanks and MIZ

I’m still on a post game high after the LSU game but then my ADD brain went to football. Has the date been announced?

This is a must-read for the Biggie lead alone

—26 assists on 33 FGs. 26 assists on 33 FGs!

—Would love to know what the halftime message was. Yes, a lot of threes were made in the first half (11!), but I thought some of those 23 attempts were rushed. Then only four attempts from deep in the second half. And a passing clinic that led to a layup line. 26 assists on 33 FGs!

—LSU coach Matt McMahon called it an offensive clinic. Remember when he was on the list of candidates for the job?

—Mizzou scored 87 points on a night when Hodge scored 8 points, on 3 layups and a dunk. Not that he didn’t contribute. That bounce pass from mid-court to Mosley for the dunk was flat-out sick. Assists? Did I mention they had 26? Five players had at least three. The ball movement is remarkable given all the new faces. This team has so many ways to beat you.

—Kobe! Lord!

—Diarra remains a work in progress, but 10 rebounds in 15 minutes? That’ll do.

—Another efficient night from the point guards: Honor with 6 points, 2 assists and no turnovers in 27 minutes. East with 6 assists and only 1 turnover.

—Only 12 attempts from the line. Would’ve liked to see more, especially after getting into the bonus with a lot of time left in the second half. But let’s not nit-pick.

—Rebounding has to get better (15 offensive boards), but that’s partly the tradeoff for the style of play. Mizzou also appeared to get their hands on a lot of rebounds they didn’t secure. Mississippi State will be a test because they love to play bully ball.

—Scariest thing: As Gates has said, this team can play better. Tonight was another example. Extended stretches of great play, but a couple of lulls in each half. Still haven’t put together a complete game. Can’t wait for that.

—The last minute was ugly. Sorry to those who laid the 10.5.

—Feb. 1 and have already matched the conference win total from last year. Man, is this ever fun!

Kobe now has more made 3s so far this season (30) than DeMarre Carroll had in his entire college career (27).

Classic tonight students. Came through loud and clear on TV. Sunny added a little flavor too.

Jenna Laird the only Mizzou rep

Was I the only one that caught the band playing "Neck" to troll LSU, with the students singing the lyrics early in the game last night?

Pretty funny troll.

Don't bet basketball.

Went into effect on Jan. 1: Bylaw 19.7.3 states that “In cases involving name, image and likeness offers, agreements and/or activities in which related communications and conduct are subject to NCAA regulation, the infractions process shall presume a violation occurred if circumstantial information suggests that one or more parties engaged in impermissible conduct. The enforcement staff may make a formal allegation based on the presumption. The hearing panel shall conclude a violation occurred unless the institution or involved individual clearly demonstrates with credible and sufficient information that all communications and conduct surrounding the name, image and likeness activity complied with NCAA legislation.”

More or less, teams are now guilty until proven innocent

Haven't seen anyone mention this, right before our game began last night, the talking heads brought up the Arena rocking and being loud. Patric Young said they are mean when you play there. They actually do research on you. They know what you had for dinner that night.
We loved it. Go students and Go Antlers...
Ms tigersouth

Gabe will be the guest speaker at next Tuesday's Tiger Club Luncheon (Feb 7) at Llywelyn's Pub in Webster Groves on Moody at Noon.

RSVP by email to curt@sawcap.com

Arrive 11:15-12:00
Llywelyn's Pub on Moody Ave in Webster Groves
Cost: $25 for lunch and drink

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JAYS!