This effort has been lacking over the last few months. But, you get a postseason win, you get a write up.
1. To follow up on that point, Mizzou did in fact win a postseason game. By my count, since 2010, Mizzou is 9-13 in postseason play. Take out Mizzou's 2012 Big 12 run, that drops to 6 wins. Throw away an NIT win and you've got 5 postseason wins that go towards an NCAA championship (no matter how remote) in 9 of the past 10 years. Hell, we didn't even play in the postseason of any kind in 2016. Point being, as pathetic as that is, good on this team, probably the weakest outside of Kim's teams in that stretch, for grabbing one.
2. Georgia isn't good. That much is obvious. But you know what? Mizzou 2019 isn't all that great either. And over 80 minutes in a little over 7 days, Mizzou thoroughly outplayed them for about 75 of those minutes. Tonight I believe we were on the bad end of a 15-3 run late in the first to go down 7 with 2 minutes to go. Managed to cut it to 2 at half with a little help from the bulldogs. After that point, Mizzou never put it away, but they never lost control of it either. Beating bad teams is a step. Not a big one, but a necessary one. Of Mizzou's 16 losses, ONE is to a team ranked outside of Pomeroy's top 75. That game happened to be aTm, with Tilmon on the bench. There were only 3 other losses outside of the top 60. Mizzou by and large has done what's needed against teams at their level, or worse (we rank 76th). So that's a plus.
3. The minus. We have one top 50 win on the season, #37 UCF at home in OT. That win being the best is nothing to be embarrassed about. They're absolutely a tournament team. But...not a lot of other quality wins to be seen (Arkansas at #52, Xavier #68, USCe #73 and Illinois #78). I bring this up because we face #14 tomorrow. As much as I'd like to think Mizzou has a shot, tomorrow's edition, if it even exists, will likely have a different feel. That's for later though.
4. Jordan Geist. There isn't a Tiger fan who shouldn't miss him. He has his deficits. He's a subpart, at best, passer of the basketball. He's not going to create a lot of opportunities for his teammates. But he makes up for it in what he can do. If tonight proves to be his last W in a tiger uniform, he made it count. 30 points, 5 boards, 1 assist, 2 steals and only 2 TO. He was 9/15 from the floor, 2/4 from deep and 10/13 from the line. No Geist, no win. While he doesn't deserve the title of "Lifetime Achievement in Perseverance" at the same level of Puryear, tip of the cap to what has turned out to a nice career. And I'll be the first to admit, I thought he sucked balls his first year here. He won me over. Wish he had his full compliment of teammates to run with this season.
5. On that point, even setting aside Jontay, how much did the season turn on missing Mark Smith? Without doing a real deep dive, I believe he could've been the difference in 4 games down the stretch. LSU, aTm, Florida and Ole Miss (at home). Each game featured debilitating scoring droughts that cost Mizzou the game. The addition of a shooter not only adds his production, but also eases the focus on his teammates. Arguendo, say Mizzou holds on in each of those games. That leaves them at 18-12 and 9-9 in league play. A quick sim on Bart Torvik's teamcast suggests that puts them right on the line between last 4 in, first 4 out. Now, i's not guaranteed they win those, but with their losing deficit(s), I could certainly see the argument. Needless to say, even the thought of having Mizzou in tournament contention after losing your best player TWICE in two pre-seasons...would've been a hell of an accomplishment. But, two withstand two of your top 3? That's a heavy ask.
6. Tilmon. Rarely do I question his intelligence or desire. That's a fool's errand (albeit one undertaken every once in a while here). I do think we didn't get him at his best tonight. Can't really say why, but it was a disappointing performance. I guess if there's a bright side, there's a tomorrow and he'll have fresh legs.
7. With Mark on the court, Mizzou was an elite 3 point shooting squad. They were averaging nearly 40% and could really make teams pay. Since that point? The season average has dropped nearly 5 points. Tonight they shot 3-11. Just when you thought Mizzou had something to hang it's hat on, its best piece is lost and that goes away. To think Mizzou shot that percentage (27%), got 4 points out of Tilmon and a combined 4 out of Watson and Pickett...and managed to win by double digits? I'll take it.
Big hill to climb tomorrow. Maybe you'll catch Auburn sleepwalking. I tend to doubt it. Yet after tomorrow, it will be a long 8 months without tiger hoops. Enjoy it while it lasts.
PS: I feel much better now after seeking out and hopefully satiating my desire for attention.
1. To follow up on that point, Mizzou did in fact win a postseason game. By my count, since 2010, Mizzou is 9-13 in postseason play. Take out Mizzou's 2012 Big 12 run, that drops to 6 wins. Throw away an NIT win and you've got 5 postseason wins that go towards an NCAA championship (no matter how remote) in 9 of the past 10 years. Hell, we didn't even play in the postseason of any kind in 2016. Point being, as pathetic as that is, good on this team, probably the weakest outside of Kim's teams in that stretch, for grabbing one.
2. Georgia isn't good. That much is obvious. But you know what? Mizzou 2019 isn't all that great either. And over 80 minutes in a little over 7 days, Mizzou thoroughly outplayed them for about 75 of those minutes. Tonight I believe we were on the bad end of a 15-3 run late in the first to go down 7 with 2 minutes to go. Managed to cut it to 2 at half with a little help from the bulldogs. After that point, Mizzou never put it away, but they never lost control of it either. Beating bad teams is a step. Not a big one, but a necessary one. Of Mizzou's 16 losses, ONE is to a team ranked outside of Pomeroy's top 75. That game happened to be aTm, with Tilmon on the bench. There were only 3 other losses outside of the top 60. Mizzou by and large has done what's needed against teams at their level, or worse (we rank 76th). So that's a plus.
3. The minus. We have one top 50 win on the season, #37 UCF at home in OT. That win being the best is nothing to be embarrassed about. They're absolutely a tournament team. But...not a lot of other quality wins to be seen (Arkansas at #52, Xavier #68, USCe #73 and Illinois #78). I bring this up because we face #14 tomorrow. As much as I'd like to think Mizzou has a shot, tomorrow's edition, if it even exists, will likely have a different feel. That's for later though.
4. Jordan Geist. There isn't a Tiger fan who shouldn't miss him. He has his deficits. He's a subpart, at best, passer of the basketball. He's not going to create a lot of opportunities for his teammates. But he makes up for it in what he can do. If tonight proves to be his last W in a tiger uniform, he made it count. 30 points, 5 boards, 1 assist, 2 steals and only 2 TO. He was 9/15 from the floor, 2/4 from deep and 10/13 from the line. No Geist, no win. While he doesn't deserve the title of "Lifetime Achievement in Perseverance" at the same level of Puryear, tip of the cap to what has turned out to a nice career. And I'll be the first to admit, I thought he sucked balls his first year here. He won me over. Wish he had his full compliment of teammates to run with this season.
5. On that point, even setting aside Jontay, how much did the season turn on missing Mark Smith? Without doing a real deep dive, I believe he could've been the difference in 4 games down the stretch. LSU, aTm, Florida and Ole Miss (at home). Each game featured debilitating scoring droughts that cost Mizzou the game. The addition of a shooter not only adds his production, but also eases the focus on his teammates. Arguendo, say Mizzou holds on in each of those games. That leaves them at 18-12 and 9-9 in league play. A quick sim on Bart Torvik's teamcast suggests that puts them right on the line between last 4 in, first 4 out. Now, i's not guaranteed they win those, but with their losing deficit(s), I could certainly see the argument. Needless to say, even the thought of having Mizzou in tournament contention after losing your best player TWICE in two pre-seasons...would've been a hell of an accomplishment. But, two withstand two of your top 3? That's a heavy ask.
6. Tilmon. Rarely do I question his intelligence or desire. That's a fool's errand (albeit one undertaken every once in a while here). I do think we didn't get him at his best tonight. Can't really say why, but it was a disappointing performance. I guess if there's a bright side, there's a tomorrow and he'll have fresh legs.
7. With Mark on the court, Mizzou was an elite 3 point shooting squad. They were averaging nearly 40% and could really make teams pay. Since that point? The season average has dropped nearly 5 points. Tonight they shot 3-11. Just when you thought Mizzou had something to hang it's hat on, its best piece is lost and that goes away. To think Mizzou shot that percentage (27%), got 4 points out of Tilmon and a combined 4 out of Watson and Pickett...and managed to win by double digits? I'll take it.
Big hill to climb tomorrow. Maybe you'll catch Auburn sleepwalking. I tend to doubt it. Yet after tomorrow, it will be a long 8 months without tiger hoops. Enjoy it while it lasts.
PS: I feel much better now after seeking out and hopefully satiating my desire for attention.
