For most of that half, I felt like Missouri played really well. The Tigers came out absolutely locked in on defense. Arkansas couldn’t get by Missouri’s defenders and thus couldn’t get anything around the rim. The Hogs started the game shooting 4-14 with four turnovers in that span. Then they got hot. Specifically, JD Notae got hot. Arkansas made seven shots in a row in a 16-0 run. Five of those shots and 12 of the points came from Notae, including two straight threes from the half court logo. You just kind of have to tip your cap on those, especially the one that got a very friendly roll. Notae apparently got so hot that his stomach couldn’t take it, as he sprinted into the locker room shortly after the scoring spree, a manager toting a trash can close behind him. He appears to have recovered. Aside from that run, Arkansas is shooting just 5-19 and 2-7 from three.
The moral of the story from that half is even though Mizzou has shown a sound defensive game plan and has executed it well, you aren’t going to keep this Arkansas team off the scoreboard forever. They have too many weapons. Mizzou has been okay on offense — I think they’ve done a nice job getting the ball around the basket and getting Tilmon going — but they’ve missed several shots you’d expect them to make and have had way too many turnovers. Missouri has turned the ball over 11 times. I believe four of those have come on offensive fouls. That’s the number one thing that needs to be cleaned up from the first half.
No matter what the final result is tonight, I think you have to be happy to see Tilmon get some of his mojo back after a tough few games. The big man has been Mizzou’s best player by far tonight with nine points. He has abused poor Connor Vanover for the second time this season. He also joined some impressive company by scoring his 1,000th career point, which gives him more than 1,000 points, 500 rebounds and 100 blocks. Xavier Pinson and Dru Smith have made a few nice plays each but have struggled to find room to get shots off once they get near the basket. Other than that, no one has done a whole lot on the offensive end. All in all, don’t think you can complain with having a halftime lead against a team as hot as Arkansas, even if it’s only a point.
The moral of the story from that half is even though Mizzou has shown a sound defensive game plan and has executed it well, you aren’t going to keep this Arkansas team off the scoreboard forever. They have too many weapons. Mizzou has been okay on offense — I think they’ve done a nice job getting the ball around the basket and getting Tilmon going — but they’ve missed several shots you’d expect them to make and have had way too many turnovers. Missouri has turned the ball over 11 times. I believe four of those have come on offensive fouls. That’s the number one thing that needs to be cleaned up from the first half.
No matter what the final result is tonight, I think you have to be happy to see Tilmon get some of his mojo back after a tough few games. The big man has been Mizzou’s best player by far tonight with nine points. He has abused poor Connor Vanover for the second time this season. He also joined some impressive company by scoring his 1,000th career point, which gives him more than 1,000 points, 500 rebounds and 100 blocks. Xavier Pinson and Dru Smith have made a few nice plays each but have struggled to find room to get shots off once they get near the basket. Other than that, no one has done a whole lot on the offensive end. All in all, don’t think you can complain with having a halftime lead against a team as hot as Arkansas, even if it’s only a point.
