Well, we can say this for Mizzou: Despite the fact that only one player on this team had ever experienced an NCAA Tournament game before tonight, they looked ready for the moment. The execution out of the gate was great. Then Oklahoma settled in, and it became the type of game you would expect between the lowest-seeded eight and highest-seeded nine, which is to say very close.
The immediate impression of Missouri is the Tigers have to do a better job of both getting the ball inside the arc and taking care of it when they do so. Mizzou took 13 threes in that first half, which is a lot (season average for a game is 21.6). The good news is five went in. Mark Smith made three of those. Good to see him bounce back after a very rough outing against Arkansas last week. The bad news is Mizzou went on a pretty prolonged stretch where it couldn’t get anything going inside the arc. Zero free throws in a half isn’t a great recipe for this team. And actually, most of the made threes that I can remember came off penetration or Jeremiah Tilmon passing out of the post. I will say, Mizzou definitely adjusted and started looking to drive or throw the ball inside more often toward the end of the half. Oklahoma didn’t have any fouls at the under-8 timeout; the Sooners finished the half with five. But simply getting the ball inside wasn’t a cure-all. I would guess the majority of the Tigers’ seven turnovers came around the basket. Oklahoma is doing a good job of frustrating Tilmon with double-teams even though it doesn’t have one guy that can match up with him. The Sooners’ length has allowed them to slow down drivers and jump into passing lanes. I still think Mizzou needs to continue to get the ball inside as often as it can, though. This team isn’t going to win by shooting 30 threes.
On the other end, Missouri has done a nice job. Brady Manek did hit a couple threes and Elijah Harkless hit one that came on a bit of a mental lapse at the end of the shot clock, but nothing has been easy for OU. Austin Reaves has nine points, but he’s had to work for them. That’s about the best you can hope for against him. The Sooners shot 11-29, quite a bit below their season average. Mizzou also avoided foul trouble, which is always a plus.
One last thing: Cuonzo generally likes to sub, but he’s going to need to ride the starters tonight. The bench has only scored two points, and it came on a Javon Pickett layup. The Tigers need Xavier Pinson’s driving ability, Jeremiah Tilmon’s post-up ability and Dru Smith’s general scoring ability on the floor as much as possible in this one. You’d certainly hope for a bit more from Dru in this second half, as he just has three points on 1-6 shooting.
The immediate impression of Missouri is the Tigers have to do a better job of both getting the ball inside the arc and taking care of it when they do so. Mizzou took 13 threes in that first half, which is a lot (season average for a game is 21.6). The good news is five went in. Mark Smith made three of those. Good to see him bounce back after a very rough outing against Arkansas last week. The bad news is Mizzou went on a pretty prolonged stretch where it couldn’t get anything going inside the arc. Zero free throws in a half isn’t a great recipe for this team. And actually, most of the made threes that I can remember came off penetration or Jeremiah Tilmon passing out of the post. I will say, Mizzou definitely adjusted and started looking to drive or throw the ball inside more often toward the end of the half. Oklahoma didn’t have any fouls at the under-8 timeout; the Sooners finished the half with five. But simply getting the ball inside wasn’t a cure-all. I would guess the majority of the Tigers’ seven turnovers came around the basket. Oklahoma is doing a good job of frustrating Tilmon with double-teams even though it doesn’t have one guy that can match up with him. The Sooners’ length has allowed them to slow down drivers and jump into passing lanes. I still think Mizzou needs to continue to get the ball inside as often as it can, though. This team isn’t going to win by shooting 30 threes.
On the other end, Missouri has done a nice job. Brady Manek did hit a couple threes and Elijah Harkless hit one that came on a bit of a mental lapse at the end of the shot clock, but nothing has been easy for OU. Austin Reaves has nine points, but he’s had to work for them. That’s about the best you can hope for against him. The Sooners shot 11-29, quite a bit below their season average. Mizzou also avoided foul trouble, which is always a plus.
One last thing: Cuonzo generally likes to sub, but he’s going to need to ride the starters tonight. The bench has only scored two points, and it came on a Javon Pickett layup. The Tigers need Xavier Pinson’s driving ability, Jeremiah Tilmon’s post-up ability and Dru Smith’s general scoring ability on the floor as much as possible in this one. You’d certainly hope for a bit more from Dru in this second half, as he just has three points on 1-6 shooting.
