That was a little bit of a weird first half. It didn’t feel like Mizzou played its best half ever. I mean, Kobe Brown was really good and the Tigers shot the three well, but there were plenty of empty possessions. Yet they’re up 16. Maybe it was the commentators talking more about LeBron James and Rick Majerus than the actual game that threw me off a bit, I don’t know. But that’s a great start. Of course, the problem for Missouri lately hasn’t been getting a lead in the first half, it’s been avoiding implosion in the second, so we’re not going to declare this one over, by any means.
But as for what we’ve seen so far, Missouri’s defense has been excellent. Cuonzo Martin has A.J. Lawson’s number. Lawson came into today having scored in double figures in every game except two this season, one of those being at Mizzou. He was averaging 19.2 points in conference games and had scored at least 20 in five of South Carolina’s past six games. He has eight today, three of them coming on a 30-foot buzzer beater at the very end of the half. The Gamecocks don’t have a lot of other weapons, so frustrating him has been huge. They are shooting a dismal 10-36 so far and missed 18 of their last 21 shots. We’ll see if that late three gets Lawson going. If not, I have a hard time seeing South Carolina coming up with enough points to close the gap.
On the other end, Kobe Brown picked up right where he left off against Georgia, even though Jeremiah Tilmon is back today. Brown scored 12 points in just 10 minutes before picking up two fouls. He’s done it in a variety of ways: putbacks, post-ups, a steal and fastbreak score, a three. Dru Smith has also been excellent. He has eight points on 3-3 shooting, five assists and one turnover, all while guarding Lawson for most of the time on the other end. Xavier Pinson is playing much better today, as well. He has seven points and no turnovers. He’s looked poised and in control, attacking at times without being reckless, and the whole offense operates so much better when he’s playing that way. Mark Smith knocked down a couple early threes, which generally leads to him playing better in all facets of the game. Overall, it’s been a very balanced attack.
Mizzou hasn’t needed Tilmon to play the dominant game he had last time it faced South Carolina. He’s taken just one shot. But just his presence has clearly made a difference on both ends of the floor. I’m not really sure why he didn’t start or why the staff seemed so cautious about his minutes early on, and I do think you’d like to get him more involved as Mizzou tries to ice this one away, but it’s hard to complain about a 16-point halftime lead.
But as for what we’ve seen so far, Missouri’s defense has been excellent. Cuonzo Martin has A.J. Lawson’s number. Lawson came into today having scored in double figures in every game except two this season, one of those being at Mizzou. He was averaging 19.2 points in conference games and had scored at least 20 in five of South Carolina’s past six games. He has eight today, three of them coming on a 30-foot buzzer beater at the very end of the half. The Gamecocks don’t have a lot of other weapons, so frustrating him has been huge. They are shooting a dismal 10-36 so far and missed 18 of their last 21 shots. We’ll see if that late three gets Lawson going. If not, I have a hard time seeing South Carolina coming up with enough points to close the gap.
On the other end, Kobe Brown picked up right where he left off against Georgia, even though Jeremiah Tilmon is back today. Brown scored 12 points in just 10 minutes before picking up two fouls. He’s done it in a variety of ways: putbacks, post-ups, a steal and fastbreak score, a three. Dru Smith has also been excellent. He has eight points on 3-3 shooting, five assists and one turnover, all while guarding Lawson for most of the time on the other end. Xavier Pinson is playing much better today, as well. He has seven points and no turnovers. He’s looked poised and in control, attacking at times without being reckless, and the whole offense operates so much better when he’s playing that way. Mark Smith knocked down a couple early threes, which generally leads to him playing better in all facets of the game. Overall, it’s been a very balanced attack.
Mizzou hasn’t needed Tilmon to play the dominant game he had last time it faced South Carolina. He’s taken just one shot. But just his presence has clearly made a difference on both ends of the floor. I’m not really sure why he didn’t start or why the staff seemed so cautious about his minutes early on, and I do think you’d like to get him more involved as Mizzou tries to ice this one away, but it’s hard to complain about a 16-point halftime lead.
