Any time you can win an SEC game wire to wire, you absolutely take that and run. The past couple outings, Missouri has looked a lot like the team we saw over the first six games of the season: It doesn't need every single player firing on all cylinders, but it can beat you in a variety of ways (as long as it doesn't have a catastrophic stretch). Yes, the last two opponents haven't been world-beaters, but those are the types of games you need to win in conference play to build up an NCAA Tournament resume, especially as strong as Mizzou was in the non-conference, and those are the types of games it seemed like Mizzou dropped so often in years past. A few individual thoughts:
I don't really know how to properly contextualize to what Jeremiah Tilmon is doing right now. On one hand, I don't want to overreact and proclaim him an all-conference player (even though he has absolutely played like a first-teamer the past four games) because I know there are still likely to be nights where he gets into foul trouble or looks disinterested. At the same time, I want to give him his due. He's been absolutely dominant on both ends of the floor. Getting a chance to watch in person tonight gave be a better appreciation for how much attention he draws when he gets the ball down low. Even if there weren't always two or three defenders directly guarding him (sometimes there were), there were two or three other defenders watching him and ready to help if necessary. That creates a lot of open shots and driving lanes and cutting avenues for other guys. And Tilmon has been so good at making the right decision: scoring if he has the chance, passing out of it and finding an open man if not. On the defensive end, he had to guard some smaller, more mobile guys for a lot of the night but he still did a really good job of moving his feet and not getting caught reaching or pushing. He had three blocks and three steals. Another underrated aspect of his game: he runs the floor so well and he seems to be in really good shape given his size. He got a few of his dunks tonight because he could keep up with the guards down the floor, and despite the fast pace for much of the game, he played 32 minutes (including playing all but 55 seconds of the first 12 and a half minutes). So while I won't say Tilmon is a lock to be an all-conference performer or anything like that, I will say he is absolutely playing the best basketball of his career and he's Missouri's most reliable player. Never thought I'd type that. Can't help but be happy for him.
Mark Smith showed his importance to the offense tonight. Missouri desperately needs a floor-spacer to pair with Tilmon and its slashers, and he's the only one who's capable of knocking down outside shots consistently. In the three games this season when Missouri has shot better than 30 percent from three (it's kind of insane they've only cleared that very low benchmark three times in 11 games yet are 9-2) Mark Smith has made four, four and three triples in those games. The rest of the team combined made six, one, two. The question, of course, is whether Smith can consistently replicate this performance against league competition.
I think the single biggest difference in this year's Missouri team from the past two, aside from maybe Tilmon's growth, is the willingness to play fast. Mizzou beat South Carolina at its own game tonight. The Gamecocks love to run, yet the Tigers out-scored them 20-7 in fast-break points. That ability to take advantage of scoring opportunities in transition has really helped the team overcome its shooting struggles. You can certainly question why the staff didn't implement this style sooner (I basically did in the press conference, and Cuonzo gave a great quote, look for it in the video or my post-game report) but you also have to credit the staff for being willing to adapt and to live with a few more turnovers and not necessarily holding opponents to 60 points every game. Semi-related: For the second game in a row, I was quite impressed with Drew Buggs' ability to manage the game when Xavier Pinson was clearly having an off night. Mizzou is going to need Pinson's playmaking ability in some games down the stretch, but it's nice to know you have a guy like Buggs when he's struggling, because when Pinson struggles, it's usually really bad.
That's all I got for tonight. Gabe has posted some thoughts as well, I wrote my story and we have video from Cuonzo. Please read/watch. Thanks.
I don't really know how to properly contextualize to what Jeremiah Tilmon is doing right now. On one hand, I don't want to overreact and proclaim him an all-conference player (even though he has absolutely played like a first-teamer the past four games) because I know there are still likely to be nights where he gets into foul trouble or looks disinterested. At the same time, I want to give him his due. He's been absolutely dominant on both ends of the floor. Getting a chance to watch in person tonight gave be a better appreciation for how much attention he draws when he gets the ball down low. Even if there weren't always two or three defenders directly guarding him (sometimes there were), there were two or three other defenders watching him and ready to help if necessary. That creates a lot of open shots and driving lanes and cutting avenues for other guys. And Tilmon has been so good at making the right decision: scoring if he has the chance, passing out of it and finding an open man if not. On the defensive end, he had to guard some smaller, more mobile guys for a lot of the night but he still did a really good job of moving his feet and not getting caught reaching or pushing. He had three blocks and three steals. Another underrated aspect of his game: he runs the floor so well and he seems to be in really good shape given his size. He got a few of his dunks tonight because he could keep up with the guards down the floor, and despite the fast pace for much of the game, he played 32 minutes (including playing all but 55 seconds of the first 12 and a half minutes). So while I won't say Tilmon is a lock to be an all-conference performer or anything like that, I will say he is absolutely playing the best basketball of his career and he's Missouri's most reliable player. Never thought I'd type that. Can't help but be happy for him.
Mark Smith showed his importance to the offense tonight. Missouri desperately needs a floor-spacer to pair with Tilmon and its slashers, and he's the only one who's capable of knocking down outside shots consistently. In the three games this season when Missouri has shot better than 30 percent from three (it's kind of insane they've only cleared that very low benchmark three times in 11 games yet are 9-2) Mark Smith has made four, four and three triples in those games. The rest of the team combined made six, one, two. The question, of course, is whether Smith can consistently replicate this performance against league competition.
I think the single biggest difference in this year's Missouri team from the past two, aside from maybe Tilmon's growth, is the willingness to play fast. Mizzou beat South Carolina at its own game tonight. The Gamecocks love to run, yet the Tigers out-scored them 20-7 in fast-break points. That ability to take advantage of scoring opportunities in transition has really helped the team overcome its shooting struggles. You can certainly question why the staff didn't implement this style sooner (I basically did in the press conference, and Cuonzo gave a great quote, look for it in the video or my post-game report) but you also have to credit the staff for being willing to adapt and to live with a few more turnovers and not necessarily holding opponents to 60 points every game. Semi-related: For the second game in a row, I was quite impressed with Drew Buggs' ability to manage the game when Xavier Pinson was clearly having an off night. Mizzou is going to need Pinson's playmaking ability in some games down the stretch, but it's nice to know you have a guy like Buggs when he's struggling, because when Pinson struggles, it's usually really bad.
That's all I got for tonight. Gabe has posted some thoughts as well, I wrote my story and we have video from Cuonzo. Please read/watch. Thanks.
