No matter how you slice it, that's a disappointing loss. Yes, Missouri showed some fight in coming back in the second half. But a team that at one point appeared to be playing for top-four seeds in the SEC and NCAA Tournaments shouldn't be getting swept by Ole Miss. The win against South Carolina was better than the alternative, but beating the woeful Gamecocks doesn't really count for much in the big picture. This was a chance to really put the three-game losing streak behind this team. Mizzou couldn't get it done on its home court.
The biggest issue was, obviously, the offense. And the biggest problem with the offense right now is Xavier Pinson. Pinson was really bad tonight. He scored two points on 1-9 shooting, including 0-4 from three. He was minus 15 in plus/minus, worst on the team, in 26 minutes. Drew Buggs, who was in the game for the entirety of Missouri's second-half run, was plus 12 in 10 minutes. On one hand, there's clearly an argument to be made that Cuonzo Martin should have left Buggs in the game down the stretch. He was asked about that after the game and said he considered it but ultimately decided to roll with Pinson because of his scoring ability. And even though it's easy to second-guess given the result, that's probably what I would have done as well. Pinson brings stuff that Buggs just can't. At his best, he's a guy that can get you a bucket late in a game when everything breaks down and you need one, and even if he's not that, he at least helps you spread the floor with his shooting ability, something Buggs lacks. You have to put your best players on the floor in big moments. When those players play well, you look good. When they don't, you look bad. I want to be very clear that I'm not putting this loss solely on Pinson's shoulders or absolving Martin of blame or anything like that, but I think it would be pretty easy to make the case that Pinson's play has been the biggest issue for Missouri during this stretch where it's lost four of five.
That said, I don't know how much longer you can ride Pinson and hope he snaps out of it. On the season, he's now minus five in plus/minus. Buggs is plus 62. Yes, Buggs has not played as much as Pinson and definitely has not played in as many important situations, but just for comparison, Dru Smith, who has played 156 more minutes than Pinson this season (and who also wasn't very good tonight) is plus 73 on the year. Especially lately, Missouri has been a better team with Pinson off the floor. That's not a good thing to be able to say about your leading scorer.
The other glaring issue for the offense was the late-game execution. Missouri tied the game at 50 apiece with about three minutes to play, then got the ball back and had a chance to take the lead. The next four possessions: turnover, missed Dru Smith pull-up, Dru Smith takes a contested three late in the clock after the ball never went inside the three-point line, turnover. By that point, it became 58-50. You gotta give Ole Miss a bit of credit for switching to a 2-3 zone that clearly flummoxed Missouri, but at this point in these players' basketball careers, they should be able to figure out how to attack a 2-3 zone. Plus, as Martin pointed out after the game, Missouri has typically been pretty successful against a zone the past couple years. Mizzou had a similar stretch once it tied the game against Georgia. In fact, the halfcourt offense as a whole has become a bit of a concern for me — I don't think it's a coincidence that Ole Miss has held Mizzou to a combined two fast break points across two games and the Tigers have failed to crack 60 both times. I know Martin typically doesn't like to call offensive plays, but I think you have to do it at some point down the stretch tonight, or at least tell the team "the ball has to get inside the paint on this possession."
I could get into some more individual breakdowns, but it's late and I don't really feel like it. I covered a lot of ground in the story that's already published. But I do feel obligated to say you are well within your right to be upset about tonight as well as the past two weeks for Mizzou. However, the coach is not getting fired. There's zero chance. I think the argument that he doesn't deserve an extension at this point absolutely has some validity (I'd probably try to find a way to extend him by a year or two without raising the buyout at all, which is just an extension in name only) but if you're going to argue for him to be fired, in my opinion, you're wasting your time. I still think this team is a lock to make the NCAA Tournament, barring a loss to A&M or Vandy. Who knows, maybe they'll figure it out and go on a run. Crazier things have happened. By the way, that reminds me, no updates yet on the A&M game scheduled for Saturday. Cuonzo said he hopes to know more tomorrow.
The biggest issue was, obviously, the offense. And the biggest problem with the offense right now is Xavier Pinson. Pinson was really bad tonight. He scored two points on 1-9 shooting, including 0-4 from three. He was minus 15 in plus/minus, worst on the team, in 26 minutes. Drew Buggs, who was in the game for the entirety of Missouri's second-half run, was plus 12 in 10 minutes. On one hand, there's clearly an argument to be made that Cuonzo Martin should have left Buggs in the game down the stretch. He was asked about that after the game and said he considered it but ultimately decided to roll with Pinson because of his scoring ability. And even though it's easy to second-guess given the result, that's probably what I would have done as well. Pinson brings stuff that Buggs just can't. At his best, he's a guy that can get you a bucket late in a game when everything breaks down and you need one, and even if he's not that, he at least helps you spread the floor with his shooting ability, something Buggs lacks. You have to put your best players on the floor in big moments. When those players play well, you look good. When they don't, you look bad. I want to be very clear that I'm not putting this loss solely on Pinson's shoulders or absolving Martin of blame or anything like that, but I think it would be pretty easy to make the case that Pinson's play has been the biggest issue for Missouri during this stretch where it's lost four of five.
That said, I don't know how much longer you can ride Pinson and hope he snaps out of it. On the season, he's now minus five in plus/minus. Buggs is plus 62. Yes, Buggs has not played as much as Pinson and definitely has not played in as many important situations, but just for comparison, Dru Smith, who has played 156 more minutes than Pinson this season (and who also wasn't very good tonight) is plus 73 on the year. Especially lately, Missouri has been a better team with Pinson off the floor. That's not a good thing to be able to say about your leading scorer.
The other glaring issue for the offense was the late-game execution. Missouri tied the game at 50 apiece with about three minutes to play, then got the ball back and had a chance to take the lead. The next four possessions: turnover, missed Dru Smith pull-up, Dru Smith takes a contested three late in the clock after the ball never went inside the three-point line, turnover. By that point, it became 58-50. You gotta give Ole Miss a bit of credit for switching to a 2-3 zone that clearly flummoxed Missouri, but at this point in these players' basketball careers, they should be able to figure out how to attack a 2-3 zone. Plus, as Martin pointed out after the game, Missouri has typically been pretty successful against a zone the past couple years. Mizzou had a similar stretch once it tied the game against Georgia. In fact, the halfcourt offense as a whole has become a bit of a concern for me — I don't think it's a coincidence that Ole Miss has held Mizzou to a combined two fast break points across two games and the Tigers have failed to crack 60 both times. I know Martin typically doesn't like to call offensive plays, but I think you have to do it at some point down the stretch tonight, or at least tell the team "the ball has to get inside the paint on this possession."
I could get into some more individual breakdowns, but it's late and I don't really feel like it. I covered a lot of ground in the story that's already published. But I do feel obligated to say you are well within your right to be upset about tonight as well as the past two weeks for Mizzou. However, the coach is not getting fired. There's zero chance. I think the argument that he doesn't deserve an extension at this point absolutely has some validity (I'd probably try to find a way to extend him by a year or two without raising the buyout at all, which is just an extension in name only) but if you're going to argue for him to be fired, in my opinion, you're wasting your time. I still think this team is a lock to make the NCAA Tournament, barring a loss to A&M or Vandy. Who knows, maybe they'll figure it out and go on a run. Crazier things have happened. By the way, that reminds me, no updates yet on the A&M game scheduled for Saturday. Cuonzo said he hopes to know more tomorrow.
