After a very not good start, that was a pretty solid half for Mizzou. Since Cuonzo Martin called timeout when the Tigers went down 7-0 in the first few minutes, the Tigers have out-scored Florida 36-22. It’s been a well-rounded effort. Dru Smith has led the way by doing a bit of everything, as he so often does. He has nine points, six assists, three rebounds and five steals, plus he made the coolest play of the half with the ol’ off-the-back inbounds pass to himself for a layup. Mark Smith had a very nice half as well. He got Missouri going with the team’s first five points, and he ended the half with eight, plus a ridiculous assist on a Dru Smith three. He’s looked in control even when driving, which is not always the case. Jeremiah Tilmon chipped in six points despite getting double-teamed almost constantly. He’s made all three of his field goals. I think Mizzou actually missed a few chances to get him the ball down low. He’s also held Florida’s Colin Castleton to 0 points on the other end. That’s huge for Missouri. Lastly, Xavier Pinson got hot at the end of the half. He finished with nine points on three made threes. I worry a little bit about him falling in love with the three-ball, but I will say he at least made a few efforts to drive the ball and his three-point attempts were, for the most part, good looks. I do think it’s important for him (and Mizzou as a whole) to continue to prioritize driving and try to get to the free throw line more than three times in the second half.
Missouri is shooting 15-33 from the field, which is quite good, and 5-9 from behind the three-point line, which is excellent. The only reason the Tigers don’t have more points is turnovers. Missouri has eight of them. Most of those have come on simple bad passes. But the Tiger offense has at least not been stagnant, which was the issue late against Ole Miss. And the eight turnovers don’t look bad at all when compared to Florida’s 15. That was really the storyline of the half. It’s almost unheard of to turn the ball over 15 times in 20 minutes. Certainly, give Missouri’s defense some credit. Eight of those turnovers came via a steal and at least one resulted from a shot clock violation, which is obviously the work of good defense. But for the most part, the Gators have just been extremely sloppy with the ball. You certainly take that if you’re Mizzou. We’ll see if Mike White gets it fixed at halftime.
Overall, that was probably the best half of basketball Missouri has played since the first half against Alabama almost a month ago. That’s certainly a good sign. Now, the Tigers have to close it out — which has obviously been easier said than done this season — and they’re a no doubt NCAA Tournament lock. By the way, one final note: I have no clue how that was a Flagrant 2 foul on Anthony Duruji. I thought it was a common foul but could have lived with a Flagrant 1 call due to the force of the contact. But ejecting him for that is egregious. Mizzou got a break there.
Missouri is shooting 15-33 from the field, which is quite good, and 5-9 from behind the three-point line, which is excellent. The only reason the Tigers don’t have more points is turnovers. Missouri has eight of them. Most of those have come on simple bad passes. But the Tiger offense has at least not been stagnant, which was the issue late against Ole Miss. And the eight turnovers don’t look bad at all when compared to Florida’s 15. That was really the storyline of the half. It’s almost unheard of to turn the ball over 15 times in 20 minutes. Certainly, give Missouri’s defense some credit. Eight of those turnovers came via a steal and at least one resulted from a shot clock violation, which is obviously the work of good defense. But for the most part, the Gators have just been extremely sloppy with the ball. You certainly take that if you’re Mizzou. We’ll see if Mike White gets it fixed at halftime.
Overall, that was probably the best half of basketball Missouri has played since the first half against Alabama almost a month ago. That’s certainly a good sign. Now, the Tigers have to close it out — which has obviously been easier said than done this season — and they’re a no doubt NCAA Tournament lock. By the way, one final note: I have no clue how that was a Flagrant 2 foul on Anthony Duruji. I thought it was a common foul but could have lived with a Flagrant 1 call due to the force of the contact. But ejecting him for that is egregious. Mizzou got a break there.
