* There are a couple ways you can look at that first half. On one hand, Missouri had a couple dreadful stretches. Like, as bad as the first half against Arkansas. The Tigers have turned the ball over 13 times. They have only eclipsed that mark in eight games all season. Iowa State scored 17 points off those turnovers. And yet until the final minute, they were winning, and even now only trail by one possession.
* The flip side, of course, is that Missouri is losing a game during which it is shooting 55 percent compared to 34.5 percent for Iowa State. The main reason has been, you guessed it, the turnovers. That figured to be the biggest issue for the Tigers coming into this game. This team simply doesn’t have a point guard, and Iowa State’s pressure-happy defense took advantage. It wasn’t just on those possessions that ended in turnovers that the pressure impacted Missouri, either. I think one of the reasons Kobe Brown hasn’t been as effective lately is because he’s been asked to help bring the ball up the floor or come and get it at the top of the key, and that’s really not where he’s effective. And several other times, it took way too long to get into the offense because of the pressure. That contributed to the two or three shot clock violations.
* The last turnover of the half was especially egregious. Boogie Coleman wasn’t being pressured and the team had a timeout to burn and he just didn’t get the ball across in time. If that play doesn’t happen, Missouri probably goes into the half with a one-point lead. This team has seen several times recently that it doesn’t have that much margin for error. That was a killer.
* The positive for Missouri has been its defense. The Tigers have improved drastically on that side of the ball across the past couple weeks. Iowa State hasn’t been a good shooting team all season, but they’re better than the 10-29 overall and 1-10 from three-point range that they showed in the first half. The biggest key for the Tigers defensively in the second half will be trying to keep Iowa State from the free throw line. The Cyclones attempted 12 free throws in that first half to five for Mizzou — a familiar storyline. I will say that Cuonzo Martin finally played Kobe Brown with two fouls today, which was nice to see.
* The flip side, of course, is that Missouri is losing a game during which it is shooting 55 percent compared to 34.5 percent for Iowa State. The main reason has been, you guessed it, the turnovers. That figured to be the biggest issue for the Tigers coming into this game. This team simply doesn’t have a point guard, and Iowa State’s pressure-happy defense took advantage. It wasn’t just on those possessions that ended in turnovers that the pressure impacted Missouri, either. I think one of the reasons Kobe Brown hasn’t been as effective lately is because he’s been asked to help bring the ball up the floor or come and get it at the top of the key, and that’s really not where he’s effective. And several other times, it took way too long to get into the offense because of the pressure. That contributed to the two or three shot clock violations.
* The last turnover of the half was especially egregious. Boogie Coleman wasn’t being pressured and the team had a timeout to burn and he just didn’t get the ball across in time. If that play doesn’t happen, Missouri probably goes into the half with a one-point lead. This team has seen several times recently that it doesn’t have that much margin for error. That was a killer.
* The positive for Missouri has been its defense. The Tigers have improved drastically on that side of the ball across the past couple weeks. Iowa State hasn’t been a good shooting team all season, but they’re better than the 10-29 overall and 1-10 from three-point range that they showed in the first half. The biggest key for the Tigers defensively in the second half will be trying to keep Iowa State from the free throw line. The Cyclones attempted 12 free throws in that first half to five for Mizzou — a familiar storyline. I will say that Cuonzo Martin finally played Kobe Brown with two fouls today, which was nice to see.
