Well, that was a lot of fun. I'm not sure I've ever covered a game before that went so quickly from looking like it was over to absolute chaos. And the coolest part for me was both teams were making big shot after big shot at the end of regulation. TCU definitely made some mistakes in overtime, but for the most part, they didn't gag this game away. Missouri had to earn it. They scored on their final six possessions of the second half, and on one of those they scored five points. To borrow from Bill Raftery, that's some onions. It seems like we've already said this a couple times this season, but that feels like the type of crazy game Missouri finds itself on the other side of the script.
Speaking of onions, man, Xavier Pinson. I actually was talking with someone else before the game and said I worried that the Tennessee game could wind up being bad for him because it would make him think he can shoot a lot better from three than he actually could. That is now a freezing cold take. The 27-percent three point shooter just casually went 8-13, including four absolutely massive shots: the four-point play, the two threes in the final two minutes of regulation (including the game-tyer with 3.9 seconds left) and the corner three in overtime. Pinson took care of the ball, too, with only two turnovers versus four assists. He was the best version of himself tonight when Missouri needed every bit of it.
As Cuonzo Martin has become fond of saying, the only player who can stop Jeremiah Tilmon at this point is himself. If he stays on the floor, he's unstoppable. He scored 15 of Mizzou's first 21 points and fouled out Kevin Samuel and almost singlehandedly kept the Tigers afloat for much of the contest. He scored a career-high 33 points (with 8 missed free throws!) and had his fifth double-double in his last seven games. He's absolutely a first-team all-SEC player if the season ended today and might be flirting with All-American status. What's maybe the most crazy part, especially when you think back to the fact that Missouri was legitimately better with Reed Nikko on the floor at the end of last year, is considering Jamie Dixon refused to double Tilmon, I'm not surprised he put up those kind of numbers. You just can't guard him with one guy at this point.
While Tilmon and Pinson were amazing (first Mizzou teammates to each score more than 30 in a game since Kareem Rush and Clarence Gilbert in 2000), there's a reason Missouri needed them to go off like that. The defense was largely horrendous. The Tigers absolutely could not keep Mike Miles and RJ Nembhard out of the lane. TCU made a lot of tough shots, to be sure, but when a team that had been averaging less than 50 for the past three games goes for 89 in regulation, the defense bears a lot of blame there. That's certainly something Missouri will need to get figured out, but it's certainly better to figure it out after a win. I have a lot more faith in Martin's ability to fix the defense after this week than if it was the offense letting Mizzou down.
My other concern out of this game is the lack of depth. Depth and balance looked like Missouri's strength for much of the season, but lately it's felt like Missouri pretty much needs Tilmon, Pinson and Dru Smith to do everything on the offensive end. Javon Pickett was fine today (Mizzou's record in games in which he scores in double figures continues to amaze me), but Mizzou got nothing at all from its bench. That might not be as big a deal if the team wasn't giving up 80-plus points, but there are going to be games where Mizzou needs more from Dru and Mark Smith and at least something from Mitchell Smith or Drew Buggs. That said, it wasn't one of the guys mentioned above that got Cuonzo's pick for game MVP. It was Kobe Brown. And while I'm not sure I would go that far, Brown was absolutely massive on the glass today. His offensive rebounds directly led to seven points in the final four minutes, and he had a big steal in overtime as well. Those are winning plays.
I have a story up, Gabe has stuff up, and I'll also have a full Q&A with Greg Sankey in the morning. Enjoy the win.
Speaking of onions, man, Xavier Pinson. I actually was talking with someone else before the game and said I worried that the Tennessee game could wind up being bad for him because it would make him think he can shoot a lot better from three than he actually could. That is now a freezing cold take. The 27-percent three point shooter just casually went 8-13, including four absolutely massive shots: the four-point play, the two threes in the final two minutes of regulation (including the game-tyer with 3.9 seconds left) and the corner three in overtime. Pinson took care of the ball, too, with only two turnovers versus four assists. He was the best version of himself tonight when Missouri needed every bit of it.
As Cuonzo Martin has become fond of saying, the only player who can stop Jeremiah Tilmon at this point is himself. If he stays on the floor, he's unstoppable. He scored 15 of Mizzou's first 21 points and fouled out Kevin Samuel and almost singlehandedly kept the Tigers afloat for much of the contest. He scored a career-high 33 points (with 8 missed free throws!) and had his fifth double-double in his last seven games. He's absolutely a first-team all-SEC player if the season ended today and might be flirting with All-American status. What's maybe the most crazy part, especially when you think back to the fact that Missouri was legitimately better with Reed Nikko on the floor at the end of last year, is considering Jamie Dixon refused to double Tilmon, I'm not surprised he put up those kind of numbers. You just can't guard him with one guy at this point.
While Tilmon and Pinson were amazing (first Mizzou teammates to each score more than 30 in a game since Kareem Rush and Clarence Gilbert in 2000), there's a reason Missouri needed them to go off like that. The defense was largely horrendous. The Tigers absolutely could not keep Mike Miles and RJ Nembhard out of the lane. TCU made a lot of tough shots, to be sure, but when a team that had been averaging less than 50 for the past three games goes for 89 in regulation, the defense bears a lot of blame there. That's certainly something Missouri will need to get figured out, but it's certainly better to figure it out after a win. I have a lot more faith in Martin's ability to fix the defense after this week than if it was the offense letting Mizzou down.
My other concern out of this game is the lack of depth. Depth and balance looked like Missouri's strength for much of the season, but lately it's felt like Missouri pretty much needs Tilmon, Pinson and Dru Smith to do everything on the offensive end. Javon Pickett was fine today (Mizzou's record in games in which he scores in double figures continues to amaze me), but Mizzou got nothing at all from its bench. That might not be as big a deal if the team wasn't giving up 80-plus points, but there are going to be games where Mizzou needs more from Dru and Mark Smith and at least something from Mitchell Smith or Drew Buggs. That said, it wasn't one of the guys mentioned above that got Cuonzo's pick for game MVP. It was Kobe Brown. And while I'm not sure I would go that far, Brown was absolutely massive on the glass today. His offensive rebounds directly led to seven points in the final four minutes, and he had a big steal in overtime as well. Those are winning plays.
I have a story up, Gabe has stuff up, and I'll also have a full Q&A with Greg Sankey in the morning. Enjoy the win.
