Well, playing with fire finally burned Missouri. All these close games, you were bound to lose one and they did. Missouri lost a game nobody deserved to win. And they played poorly and absolutely deserved to win and let's go through the reasons why:
1. Free throws. 7-17. That's ridiculous. Most of this board could shoot 41% from the free throw line and I'm truly not exaggerating when I say that. Kassius Robertson 3-6 shouldn't happen. Jontay Porter 1-4 CAN'T happen.
2. Layups. Feel free to make one. I mean, my goodness. 10-27 from two-point range? Only white hot shooting from three even gave Mizzou a chance.
3. Jeremiah Tilmon. As good as he was on Tuesday against Texas A&M, that's how bad he was on Saturday. He missed all six shots (five of which were within about 24 inches of the basket), had one rebound (again, at 6-10, you should be able to stand flat footed and get three), went 1-4 from the free throw line and had three turnovers. If you change NOTHING else about this game other than give Tilmon a below average game instead of his worst game, Missouri wins.
4. Will Wade's defensive adjustment. (Note: Others have convinced me I was wrong here. Did this minutes after the game and my take is likely incorrect. The shots didn't go in, but Mizzou attacked it well). On Missouri's last two possessions, Wade switched to a 1-3-1 zone and Missouri wasn't ready for it. I'll give them the first possession. Tip your cap to a great adjustment. But why weren't they ready for it on the next possession? LSU had just played it and it had worked. You have to expect it again.
So let's go big picture now. This is not a killer loss for Missouri. I mean it hurts in that you had a million chances to win it, but it doesn't change a ton about your season. This was a high upside, low downside game to me. Bama got beat too, so no matter what, you're in position to be a top four seed after the game today. So that's fine. It probably erased the ability to play your way up to like a four seed, but it's not a bad loss really. The silver lining is the win moved LSU up to a Quadrant 1 game. Let's see if it stays there.
I want to see Kevin Puryear shoot more threes (they don't even guard him out there anymore) and shoot fewer (he might make them down the road, but he doesn't do so nearly enough for how many he shoots right now).
You have a must win game Tuesday night against Ole Miss. That's the one left on the schedule that you simply can't lose. I think Missouri will bounce back and win that one. And then you've got to find a way to go 2-1 down the stretch and see if/when you get MPJ back. Today changed almost nothing about my outlook for the season...but man it was a tough one to stomach.
1. Free throws. 7-17. That's ridiculous. Most of this board could shoot 41% from the free throw line and I'm truly not exaggerating when I say that. Kassius Robertson 3-6 shouldn't happen. Jontay Porter 1-4 CAN'T happen.
2. Layups. Feel free to make one. I mean, my goodness. 10-27 from two-point range? Only white hot shooting from three even gave Mizzou a chance.
3. Jeremiah Tilmon. As good as he was on Tuesday against Texas A&M, that's how bad he was on Saturday. He missed all six shots (five of which were within about 24 inches of the basket), had one rebound (again, at 6-10, you should be able to stand flat footed and get three), went 1-4 from the free throw line and had three turnovers. If you change NOTHING else about this game other than give Tilmon a below average game instead of his worst game, Missouri wins.
4. Will Wade's defensive adjustment. (Note: Others have convinced me I was wrong here. Did this minutes after the game and my take is likely incorrect. The shots didn't go in, but Mizzou attacked it well). On Missouri's last two possessions, Wade switched to a 1-3-1 zone and Missouri wasn't ready for it. I'll give them the first possession. Tip your cap to a great adjustment. But why weren't they ready for it on the next possession? LSU had just played it and it had worked. You have to expect it again.
So let's go big picture now. This is not a killer loss for Missouri. I mean it hurts in that you had a million chances to win it, but it doesn't change a ton about your season. This was a high upside, low downside game to me. Bama got beat too, so no matter what, you're in position to be a top four seed after the game today. So that's fine. It probably erased the ability to play your way up to like a four seed, but it's not a bad loss really. The silver lining is the win moved LSU up to a Quadrant 1 game. Let's see if it stays there.
I want to see Kevin Puryear shoot more threes (they don't even guard him out there anymore) and shoot fewer (he might make them down the road, but he doesn't do so nearly enough for how many he shoots right now).
You have a must win game Tuesday night against Ole Miss. That's the one left on the schedule that you simply can't lose. I think Missouri will bounce back and win that one. And then you've got to find a way to go 2-1 down the stretch and see if/when you get MPJ back. Today changed almost nothing about my outlook for the season...but man it was a tough one to stomach.
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