I am going to have a season wrap-up tomorrow morning looking at the season-long strengths and weaknesses and the storylines to watch this offseason, so I am not going to get too much into that tonight. But one big-picture note, it's always hard to see seniors end their college careers on a loss, which is almost always how these things end. You could tell after the game that Jordan Geist was pained, but he certainly has nothing to be ashamed of. Fifty-five points in two tournament games is damn impressive. Almost every time Mizzou needed a bucket, he delivered. Bruce Pearl joined the long list of coaches to praise him after the game. Nobody except Geist himself would have thought he would get to this point when he was a freshman at junior college, so that's been nice to see. And even though Kevin Puryear didn't have the senior year most, including himself, hoped, he has stuck it out through some lean years and everyone in the locker room after the game praised his leadership ability.
Certainly the fans and players wanted a win today, but I think that was about as positive a result as you could have realistically hoped for entering the game. Auburn punched Mizzou with multiple runs that would have knocked a lot of teams out of the game, including Mizzou itself six weeks ago. Mizzou never gave up, tying the game in the second half and pulling within two possessions with two minutes to play. This team has been outmatched for much of the season, but it has never stopped fighting, and I think that's cause to be optimistic about the future. If the team can match that resilience with some more talent, the results will improve.
Some notes on individual players: Torrence Watson is starting to look like a bona fide stud. He should enter the offseason with a ton of confidence that he can score on this level like he did in high school. Xavier Pinson showed flashes, as he's done all year, but he still has a lot of room to grow. Eight turnovers is way too many from a point guard. Some of that will come with strength — Auburn's guards are really physical — some needs to come from better decision making. Jeremiah Tilmon looked passive early but responded to a challenge from Martin at halftime, which is a sign of progress. The name of the game with him will always be learning to be consistent with his effort. Javon Pickett had a brutal game. Cuonzo said he hasn't been healthy for about a month. He also said no one is more upset than Pickett with his play and he will be better for it, which is a nice sentiment, but I question why he was on the floor in the last few minutes today. I think Reed Nikko and Mitchell Smith probably have a spot on this team going forward. I think K.J. Santos does not.
Thanks for reading and following along all season. We'll do it again next year.
Certainly the fans and players wanted a win today, but I think that was about as positive a result as you could have realistically hoped for entering the game. Auburn punched Mizzou with multiple runs that would have knocked a lot of teams out of the game, including Mizzou itself six weeks ago. Mizzou never gave up, tying the game in the second half and pulling within two possessions with two minutes to play. This team has been outmatched for much of the season, but it has never stopped fighting, and I think that's cause to be optimistic about the future. If the team can match that resilience with some more talent, the results will improve.
Some notes on individual players: Torrence Watson is starting to look like a bona fide stud. He should enter the offseason with a ton of confidence that he can score on this level like he did in high school. Xavier Pinson showed flashes, as he's done all year, but he still has a lot of room to grow. Eight turnovers is way too many from a point guard. Some of that will come with strength — Auburn's guards are really physical — some needs to come from better decision making. Jeremiah Tilmon looked passive early but responded to a challenge from Martin at halftime, which is a sign of progress. The name of the game with him will always be learning to be consistent with his effort. Javon Pickett had a brutal game. Cuonzo said he hasn't been healthy for about a month. He also said no one is more upset than Pickett with his play and he will be better for it, which is a nice sentiment, but I question why he was on the floor in the last few minutes today. I think Reed Nikko and Mitchell Smith probably have a spot on this team going forward. I think K.J. Santos does not.
Thanks for reading and following along all season. We'll do it again next year.
