I'm gonna get this one out of the way early and then you guys can yell at me about how wrong I am while I go get dinner: The refs didn't lose this game. Missouri spent the first 20 minutes shooting 23 footers with four seconds on the shot clock. That doesn't draw fouls. I didn't see a single call (I admit I don't have the benefit of replay, so maybe someone can prove me wrong) on Jeremiah Tilmon or Jontay Porter that I didn't think was deserved.
Now on to the rest of it:
*Missouri looked panicked in the first half. It wasn't necessarily the press because the Tigers didn't have a ton of turnovers (they ended with 16, which is about two over their season average and two over what Arkansas forces). But once they got across halfcourt, they didn't get into anything resembling an offense (i.e. something more than throwing the ball around the three point line) until the shot clock was down to 12. And they ended up hoisting a bunch of jump shots.
*To the Tigers' credit, they settled down and got a lot of easy baskets. The run to get it to seven at half was big. The run to take a six point lead was bigger. It was a loss, so it doesn't matter a lot, but it does matter a little. They didn't quit.
*I am sure there is a lot of anger about Jordan Geist. But what other option does Cuonzo Martin have as a point guard? Terrence Phillips can't stay on the floor because he simply commits mind-numbing fouls far too often. Blake Harris transferred. Geist is the point guard for better or worse.
*That said, I didn't agree with him having the ball in the Florida game at the end and I don't agree with him having it in this one. Cuonzo Martin said the play is determined by the way the opponent defends it. And he said the Razorbacks took away one option on the inbounds (I'd assume that was Kassius Robertson which forces Geist to bring the ball up). Jordan Barnett fell down, so that took away the other option. On watching the replay, the ONLY option Geist had, other than what he did, was to throw a risky pass to Reed Nikko who was cutting just above the free throw line and appeared to be open. I don't think that's the guy Missouri fans want taking the game tying shot. The upshot from me here is, you have to find a way to get the ball to Robertson on the inbounds and let him be the one that makes the play.
*Jeremiah Tilmon and Jontay Porter were great last game. They'll be great again. They were not great today. Daniel Gafford had better numbers than those two combined (and didn't foul out).
*It's a limiited team right now. They're in games. They need to find ways to finish them. They're close. But they aren't there.
*The next six games are huge. Road games at Mississippi State, A&M and Alabama. They're all winnable, but they're road games. Home games against Tennessee, Auburn and Kentucky. They're all ranked. If Missouri is 4-2 or better in that stretch, I'll feel confident about the NCAA Tournament chances. At 3-3 they'll have a chance. Worse than that and they're going to have to go on a strong run against a schedule that does get quite a bit easier in the second half.
Now on to the rest of it:
*Missouri looked panicked in the first half. It wasn't necessarily the press because the Tigers didn't have a ton of turnovers (they ended with 16, which is about two over their season average and two over what Arkansas forces). But once they got across halfcourt, they didn't get into anything resembling an offense (i.e. something more than throwing the ball around the three point line) until the shot clock was down to 12. And they ended up hoisting a bunch of jump shots.
*To the Tigers' credit, they settled down and got a lot of easy baskets. The run to get it to seven at half was big. The run to take a six point lead was bigger. It was a loss, so it doesn't matter a lot, but it does matter a little. They didn't quit.
*I am sure there is a lot of anger about Jordan Geist. But what other option does Cuonzo Martin have as a point guard? Terrence Phillips can't stay on the floor because he simply commits mind-numbing fouls far too often. Blake Harris transferred. Geist is the point guard for better or worse.
*That said, I didn't agree with him having the ball in the Florida game at the end and I don't agree with him having it in this one. Cuonzo Martin said the play is determined by the way the opponent defends it. And he said the Razorbacks took away one option on the inbounds (I'd assume that was Kassius Robertson which forces Geist to bring the ball up). Jordan Barnett fell down, so that took away the other option. On watching the replay, the ONLY option Geist had, other than what he did, was to throw a risky pass to Reed Nikko who was cutting just above the free throw line and appeared to be open. I don't think that's the guy Missouri fans want taking the game tying shot. The upshot from me here is, you have to find a way to get the ball to Robertson on the inbounds and let him be the one that makes the play.
*Jeremiah Tilmon and Jontay Porter were great last game. They'll be great again. They were not great today. Daniel Gafford had better numbers than those two combined (and didn't foul out).
*It's a limiited team right now. They're in games. They need to find ways to finish them. They're close. But they aren't there.
*The next six games are huge. Road games at Mississippi State, A&M and Alabama. They're all winnable, but they're road games. Home games against Tennessee, Auburn and Kentucky. They're all ranked. If Missouri is 4-2 or better in that stretch, I'll feel confident about the NCAA Tournament chances. At 3-3 they'll have a chance. Worse than that and they're going to have to go on a strong run against a schedule that does get quite a bit easier in the second half.
