* Well, that was a fun two minutes there when Mizzou went on a 12-0 run and got to say it was winning in Rupp Arena. The Tigers had about the worst start imaginable, turning it over four times before the first media timeout and letting Kentucky score on each of its first five trips and falling behind 11-2. At that point, I would have given you pretty long odds for Mizzou to lead at any point in this game.
* The problem was, even when Missouri took the lead, it never seemed sustainable. Because the Tiger offense has looked absolutely inept. Even during the 12-0 run, most of the shots were objectively bad looks that just went in. Mizzou has hardly ever been able to get the ball into the paint. There’s been known to be some home cooking in Rupp from an officiating standpoint, but I think a far bigger cause for the fact that Mizzou got called for 12 fouls to Kentucky’s four and that the Tigers didn’t attempt a free throw until less than a minute remained in the half is that Missouri couldn’t get the ball inside. When it did, the Tiger players seemed to shy away from contact. They missed quite a few bunnies around the rim, mostly after offensive rebounds. Mizzou is 12-35 from the field and at one point went on a 2-19 stretch. That’s not going to cut it against a team that averages more than 83 points per game.
* On the defensive end, Missouri actually did an admirable job defending the paint and keeping Kentucky off the glass, which is always priority No. 1 against the Wildcats. The Tigers won the rebounding battle 20-19 in the first 20 minutes and only gave up three offensive boards. Oscar Tshiebwe only made one field goal. What killed Mizzou was its inability to get back in transition. Kentucky scored 19 fast-break points, and that doesn't include a few times when the Wildcats never had to pass the ball and TyTy Washington or Sahvir Wheeler simply blew past his defender for a layup. When you’re offensively challenged like Missouri, you simply can’t give up that many easy baskets.
* My biggest issue with the first half was the decision to sit Kobe Brown for the final 14-plus minutes. I thought maybe with Cuonzo Martin not here the staff would opt to deviate from the strategy of sitting him for the rest of the half after he picked up his second foul. Nope. I simply do not understand the logic. Sure, it would be ideal to have him for the end of a close game. But the game is no longer close, so it doesn’t really matter, and I believe a large reason why it is not close is because of the absence of Brown. The other big men really struggled without him. Yaya Keita never hit the rim on either of his two field goal attempts, a layup and an open three. He just doesn't look ready for this level yet. Jordan Wilmore picked up two fouls in 30 seconds (no exaggeration) and was lucky he didn’t get called for a technical foul. He has zero business playing in the SEC. As soon as the momentum started to slip away after Mizzou’s 12-0 run, I would have put Brown back out there. The worst case scenario would be him picking up a quick third foul and leaving the game and the score being something like this. As it is, I see almost no way Mizzou gets back in this one unless Kentucky goes like 12 minutes without a field goal.
* The problem was, even when Missouri took the lead, it never seemed sustainable. Because the Tiger offense has looked absolutely inept. Even during the 12-0 run, most of the shots were objectively bad looks that just went in. Mizzou has hardly ever been able to get the ball into the paint. There’s been known to be some home cooking in Rupp from an officiating standpoint, but I think a far bigger cause for the fact that Mizzou got called for 12 fouls to Kentucky’s four and that the Tigers didn’t attempt a free throw until less than a minute remained in the half is that Missouri couldn’t get the ball inside. When it did, the Tiger players seemed to shy away from contact. They missed quite a few bunnies around the rim, mostly after offensive rebounds. Mizzou is 12-35 from the field and at one point went on a 2-19 stretch. That’s not going to cut it against a team that averages more than 83 points per game.
* On the defensive end, Missouri actually did an admirable job defending the paint and keeping Kentucky off the glass, which is always priority No. 1 against the Wildcats. The Tigers won the rebounding battle 20-19 in the first 20 minutes and only gave up three offensive boards. Oscar Tshiebwe only made one field goal. What killed Mizzou was its inability to get back in transition. Kentucky scored 19 fast-break points, and that doesn't include a few times when the Wildcats never had to pass the ball and TyTy Washington or Sahvir Wheeler simply blew past his defender for a layup. When you’re offensively challenged like Missouri, you simply can’t give up that many easy baskets.
* My biggest issue with the first half was the decision to sit Kobe Brown for the final 14-plus minutes. I thought maybe with Cuonzo Martin not here the staff would opt to deviate from the strategy of sitting him for the rest of the half after he picked up his second foul. Nope. I simply do not understand the logic. Sure, it would be ideal to have him for the end of a close game. But the game is no longer close, so it doesn’t really matter, and I believe a large reason why it is not close is because of the absence of Brown. The other big men really struggled without him. Yaya Keita never hit the rim on either of his two field goal attempts, a layup and an open three. He just doesn't look ready for this level yet. Jordan Wilmore picked up two fouls in 30 seconds (no exaggeration) and was lucky he didn’t get called for a technical foul. He has zero business playing in the SEC. As soon as the momentum started to slip away after Mizzou’s 12-0 run, I would have put Brown back out there. The worst case scenario would be him picking up a quick third foul and leaving the game and the score being something like this. As it is, I see almost no way Mizzou gets back in this one unless Kentucky goes like 12 minutes without a field goal.
