That was the polar opposite of how the last game started, Instead of looking shell-shocked and taking nine minutes to score four points, Mizzou delivered the first punch tonight. The Tigers made six of their first 10 shots and jumped out to a 23-10 lead. They were greatly helped by the fact that Tennessee looked like it had never seen a basketball before, committing an astounding 10 turnovers in the first nine minutes. Credit Missouri for turning those turnovers into points, though. The Tigers scored 12 points off Tennessee’s 11 giveaways during the course of the half. The best way to attack a team with a dominant half-court defense? Beat it down the floor. Missouri has been able to do that so far.
We haven’t seen many games this year where Xavier Pinson and Dru Smith both played well. It looks pretty good on Missouri. Whatever the coaching staff said to Pinson this week worked. He has broken out of his slump in a big way, scoring 19 points in that half (it was actually 19 of Missouri’s first 32). He’s knifed through the Tennessee defense at will and converted some really tough finishes. Even more jarring was the fact that he made all three three-pointers. He came into this game shooting 25.5 percent from behind the arc on the season. If he could stay hot, it would be big. Smith, meanwhile, hit three threes of his own and has 13 points. He’s also done a nice job starting the fast break. Pinson and Smith are the reasons Mizzou is shooting well above its season average from behind the arc, making six of 12 triples during the first half.
Missouri as a whole has been a lot better driving the ball during this matchup than the first one, and I think that has a lot to do with the attention Jeremiah Tilmon is drawing right now. He only scored four points, but given the way he’s played lately, he demands attention (and tonight definitely some grabs and holds that went uncalled) from multiple defenders, so the fact that he stayed on the floor for 15 minutes despite the physicality was big. Mizzou is out-scoring Tennessee in the paint 18-10.
The game is far from over, of course. When Tennessee hasn’t turned the ball over, its offense has actually been pretty good. The Vols shot 50 percent from the field and 45.5 percent from three-point range during the first half. Yves Pons has been more than just a defensive dynamo in this one. He’s hit two threes and drawn several fouls and has 15 points. Will be interested to see how Mizzou tries to guard him in the second half. The biggest key, in my mind, in the second half will be continuing to keep the foot on the gas and take calculated risks to try to force turnovers and score in transition whenever possible. It seems weird to say about a Cuonzo Martin coached team, but the higher-scoring this game gets, probably the better for Mizzou.
We haven’t seen many games this year where Xavier Pinson and Dru Smith both played well. It looks pretty good on Missouri. Whatever the coaching staff said to Pinson this week worked. He has broken out of his slump in a big way, scoring 19 points in that half (it was actually 19 of Missouri’s first 32). He’s knifed through the Tennessee defense at will and converted some really tough finishes. Even more jarring was the fact that he made all three three-pointers. He came into this game shooting 25.5 percent from behind the arc on the season. If he could stay hot, it would be big. Smith, meanwhile, hit three threes of his own and has 13 points. He’s also done a nice job starting the fast break. Pinson and Smith are the reasons Mizzou is shooting well above its season average from behind the arc, making six of 12 triples during the first half.
Missouri as a whole has been a lot better driving the ball during this matchup than the first one, and I think that has a lot to do with the attention Jeremiah Tilmon is drawing right now. He only scored four points, but given the way he’s played lately, he demands attention (and tonight definitely some grabs and holds that went uncalled) from multiple defenders, so the fact that he stayed on the floor for 15 minutes despite the physicality was big. Mizzou is out-scoring Tennessee in the paint 18-10.
The game is far from over, of course. When Tennessee hasn’t turned the ball over, its offense has actually been pretty good. The Vols shot 50 percent from the field and 45.5 percent from three-point range during the first half. Yves Pons has been more than just a defensive dynamo in this one. He’s hit two threes and drawn several fouls and has 15 points. Will be interested to see how Mizzou tries to guard him in the second half. The biggest key, in my mind, in the second half will be continuing to keep the foot on the gas and take calculated risks to try to force turnovers and score in transition whenever possible. It seems weird to say about a Cuonzo Martin coached team, but the higher-scoring this game gets, probably the better for Mizzou.
