First off, this is a weird building, but I dig it. Really cool feel in here. Would be fun to see when it's full...which it was not close to being tonight.
Missouri did exactly what it should have done. It overcame three straight losses, it overcame all the speculation about a guy on the bench, it overcame a really poor 15 minutes of basketball and it beat a bad team.
There's only one question that really matters: Is Mizzou now a lock? I don't know if they are...but they're awfully close. Missouri needs one more win to go into Selection Sunday wondering not if they're going to hear their name called, but what number and city and opponent will be next to it. They might get in by losing the next two. But if they win one, they're in without a doubt. I'd say go ahead and get that out of the way on Saturday. It would be better that way.
If Missouri could get THAT Jontay Porter--or even something approaching it--on a regular basis, it would be really fun to watch. But Vanderbilt offers about the most favorable matchup possible. They're small and not very good inside and don't appear very good at playing a zone.
But more than Porter's performance, it's HOW they played. They pounded the ball inside. They didn't take a shot outside five feet on their first five possessions. And what did it lead to? Open shots. They hit 12 of 22 from deep. Do that more.
Cuonzo Martin said after a couple losses they forgot what got them here. This team needs constant reminders, but if they play the way they did for the last 25 minutes tonight (inside-out and tough on D) they can scare the hell out of a better team in March. If they don't, they can lose to anyone.
Hey, Jordan Barnett played the second half! And played it very well. He scored 17 after halftime and Cuonzo Martin called it the best defensive effort of the season.
Jordan Geist wasn't great, but he settled the free throw nerves and hit four big ones in a row to help keep Vandy at bay.
For the first time I can remember, Missouri won without a great performance from Kassius Robertson. He wasn't bad but he wasn't good either (9 points on 3-6 shooting, all threes, three turnovers, two assists). And I think that's a good thing. He even had some low pressure minutes. That's gonna be needed. I thought this team looked exhausted recently. They found some energy in the second half when they desperately needed it.
As for Michael Porter Jr.? Maybe he'll play, maybe he won't. I won't even hazard a guess anymore. I don't know. And I don't think Cuonzo Martin knows. I'm not sure who does.
All in all, good win. One more and we get to talk about the NCAA Tournament for sure. Let's do that. It's been too long.
Missouri did exactly what it should have done. It overcame three straight losses, it overcame all the speculation about a guy on the bench, it overcame a really poor 15 minutes of basketball and it beat a bad team.
There's only one question that really matters: Is Mizzou now a lock? I don't know if they are...but they're awfully close. Missouri needs one more win to go into Selection Sunday wondering not if they're going to hear their name called, but what number and city and opponent will be next to it. They might get in by losing the next two. But if they win one, they're in without a doubt. I'd say go ahead and get that out of the way on Saturday. It would be better that way.
If Missouri could get THAT Jontay Porter--or even something approaching it--on a regular basis, it would be really fun to watch. But Vanderbilt offers about the most favorable matchup possible. They're small and not very good inside and don't appear very good at playing a zone.
But more than Porter's performance, it's HOW they played. They pounded the ball inside. They didn't take a shot outside five feet on their first five possessions. And what did it lead to? Open shots. They hit 12 of 22 from deep. Do that more.
Cuonzo Martin said after a couple losses they forgot what got them here. This team needs constant reminders, but if they play the way they did for the last 25 minutes tonight (inside-out and tough on D) they can scare the hell out of a better team in March. If they don't, they can lose to anyone.
Hey, Jordan Barnett played the second half! And played it very well. He scored 17 after halftime and Cuonzo Martin called it the best defensive effort of the season.
Jordan Geist wasn't great, but he settled the free throw nerves and hit four big ones in a row to help keep Vandy at bay.
For the first time I can remember, Missouri won without a great performance from Kassius Robertson. He wasn't bad but he wasn't good either (9 points on 3-6 shooting, all threes, three turnovers, two assists). And I think that's a good thing. He even had some low pressure minutes. That's gonna be needed. I thought this team looked exhausted recently. They found some energy in the second half when they desperately needed it.
As for Michael Porter Jr.? Maybe he'll play, maybe he won't. I won't even hazard a guess anymore. I don't know. And I don't think Cuonzo Martin knows. I'm not sure who does.
All in all, good win. One more and we get to talk about the NCAA Tournament for sure. Let's do that. It's been too long.
