After the South Carolina game, Cuonzo Martin was asked how it impacted the game when his team got out to a big early lead. He said it was good. He liked it so much, he apparently instructed the Tigers to do it again. Last time these teams played, Mizzou was down 23-4. This time around, the Tigers led 17-5. That seems better. They should do that every game.
Tennessee contributed plenty to Missouri’s early success. Were I the type of guy to recklessly accuse college players I don’t know of point shaving, it would have been tempting to do so in the first 10 minutes of this game. The Vols had ten turnovers in the first nine minutes…a time in which they had made only three shots. Those turnovers were turned into 12 Mizzou points. It was a stunning display of ineptitude for a team that looked invincible when we saw them in Columbia 25 days ago.
Random observation not specific to any given play: College officials have no idea when or when not to call a charge. I am not exaggerating when I say that I would instruct my players to dive on the floor any time an offensive player came near them. They’ll get the call every time. Hugely effective defense.
Xavier Pinson was simply huge in the first half. He was the answer every time. Tennessee made a run and Pinson made a shot. He had been the subject of all the “why isn’t he playing well” questions lately. I think he answered them. He had 19 in the first half on 8/10 shooting. He ended the game with 27, a season-high both for him and for a Tennessee opponent.
Crazy what it can look like when the shots go in. Missouri was 3/22 from three point range the first time it played Tennessee. The Tigers were 6/12 in the first half, including 3/6 from Dru Smith, who suddenly looks like a really good jump shooter and 3/3 from Pinson who has never been a good shooter even when he has played really well. Mizzou and Tennessee combined to make eight threes in the first matchup. With 11 minutes to go they had EACH made eight in this one. The Tigers finished 8/19. If they shoot the ball like that from three-point range (and about that often) they're going to win a lot of games.
As good as balance is, sometimes you just need guys capable of taking games over. Missouri has some. Pinson and Jeremiah Tilmon are both capable. Dru Smith showed tonight he is too at times. That’s good. It’s great to have a balanced roster. But sometimes in games against really good teams, you need an alpha dog that can just go out there and be the best dude on the floor.
Give the Vols credit for turning this one into a game. It didn’t look like they were all that interested in doing so for a while. But they got within three at one point and certainly had the lead to a point where it was manageable at halftime where you weren’t feeling great if you were a Mizzou fan. As good as the first half was, I thought the first eight minutes of the second half were where the Tigers won it. If UT scores a couple early baskets and gets the game tied early on in the second half, things might go a lot differently. Instead, Mizzou extended the lead to 11 in the first 6:30 of the second half and forced Tennessee to go right back into comeback mode.
Jeremiah Tilmon didn’t put up the offensive numbers he has the past four games (I’m gonna bet the UT game plan had plenty to do with making sure that didn’t happen), but his defense was really good. John Fulkerson was simply no factor. Tilmon was all over the place on that end of the court.
Underrated solid contribution: Kobe Brown with 8 points, 5/6 from the line, 7 rebounds, 2 steals. You get anything approaching that out of him every night and you're going to be pretty happy.
The biggest shot of the night was a top of the key jumper by Xavier Pinson with 6:10 to go. Tennessee had closed within eight. Missouri hadn’t made a shot in five minutes. Pinson stuck it from just inside the three point line. The next possession, Tilmon blocked a shot and Pickett scored on a runout and the lead was 12 again. Every time Tennessee punched, Mizzou absorbed it and punched back.
Time to stop doubting this team. Among the notable things from tonight: Mizzou picked up its fourth true road win of the season. The last time Mizzou had won three true road games by mid-January was the 1994-95 season. Mizzou picked up its third win over a ranked team. Mizzou picked up its second win over a team ranked in the top six. The last time the Tigers beat a team ranked higher than Tennessee in a road game (and as a matter of fact, the last time the Tigers won a road game against a team that was ranked period) was January 21, 2012 against Baylor. That was nine years and a conference ago. Mizzou is now alone in second in the SEC.
In the last two games, Mizzou has led for 78 minutes and 32 seconds of a possible 80 minutes. It has not trailed at all. It has led for at least 39 minutes in each game. They’re not perfect. They’re gonna lose again at some point. But they’re pretty damn good. So let me finish with this: Enjoy this team. Don’t worry about next season right now. Don’t worry about whether you think Cuonzo Martin is the right guy to lead this program for a decade. You have a good team NOW. Maybe you’ll have one next year and the year after that and maybe you won’t. My friend and colleague Sam Mellinger always says “Nobody can tell you how to be a fan” but at the risk of breaking that rule, don’t miss this team because you’re worried about the team a year or two from now. Good basketball hasn’t been all that common around here the last few years. Enjoy it while you know you have it.
Tennessee contributed plenty to Missouri’s early success. Were I the type of guy to recklessly accuse college players I don’t know of point shaving, it would have been tempting to do so in the first 10 minutes of this game. The Vols had ten turnovers in the first nine minutes…a time in which they had made only three shots. Those turnovers were turned into 12 Mizzou points. It was a stunning display of ineptitude for a team that looked invincible when we saw them in Columbia 25 days ago.
Random observation not specific to any given play: College officials have no idea when or when not to call a charge. I am not exaggerating when I say that I would instruct my players to dive on the floor any time an offensive player came near them. They’ll get the call every time. Hugely effective defense.
Xavier Pinson was simply huge in the first half. He was the answer every time. Tennessee made a run and Pinson made a shot. He had been the subject of all the “why isn’t he playing well” questions lately. I think he answered them. He had 19 in the first half on 8/10 shooting. He ended the game with 27, a season-high both for him and for a Tennessee opponent.
Crazy what it can look like when the shots go in. Missouri was 3/22 from three point range the first time it played Tennessee. The Tigers were 6/12 in the first half, including 3/6 from Dru Smith, who suddenly looks like a really good jump shooter and 3/3 from Pinson who has never been a good shooter even when he has played really well. Mizzou and Tennessee combined to make eight threes in the first matchup. With 11 minutes to go they had EACH made eight in this one. The Tigers finished 8/19. If they shoot the ball like that from three-point range (and about that often) they're going to win a lot of games.
As good as balance is, sometimes you just need guys capable of taking games over. Missouri has some. Pinson and Jeremiah Tilmon are both capable. Dru Smith showed tonight he is too at times. That’s good. It’s great to have a balanced roster. But sometimes in games against really good teams, you need an alpha dog that can just go out there and be the best dude on the floor.
Give the Vols credit for turning this one into a game. It didn’t look like they were all that interested in doing so for a while. But they got within three at one point and certainly had the lead to a point where it was manageable at halftime where you weren’t feeling great if you were a Mizzou fan. As good as the first half was, I thought the first eight minutes of the second half were where the Tigers won it. If UT scores a couple early baskets and gets the game tied early on in the second half, things might go a lot differently. Instead, Mizzou extended the lead to 11 in the first 6:30 of the second half and forced Tennessee to go right back into comeback mode.
Jeremiah Tilmon didn’t put up the offensive numbers he has the past four games (I’m gonna bet the UT game plan had plenty to do with making sure that didn’t happen), but his defense was really good. John Fulkerson was simply no factor. Tilmon was all over the place on that end of the court.
Underrated solid contribution: Kobe Brown with 8 points, 5/6 from the line, 7 rebounds, 2 steals. You get anything approaching that out of him every night and you're going to be pretty happy.
The biggest shot of the night was a top of the key jumper by Xavier Pinson with 6:10 to go. Tennessee had closed within eight. Missouri hadn’t made a shot in five minutes. Pinson stuck it from just inside the three point line. The next possession, Tilmon blocked a shot and Pickett scored on a runout and the lead was 12 again. Every time Tennessee punched, Mizzou absorbed it and punched back.
Time to stop doubting this team. Among the notable things from tonight: Mizzou picked up its fourth true road win of the season. The last time Mizzou had won three true road games by mid-January was the 1994-95 season. Mizzou picked up its third win over a ranked team. Mizzou picked up its second win over a team ranked in the top six. The last time the Tigers beat a team ranked higher than Tennessee in a road game (and as a matter of fact, the last time the Tigers won a road game against a team that was ranked period) was January 21, 2012 against Baylor. That was nine years and a conference ago. Mizzou is now alone in second in the SEC.
In the last two games, Mizzou has led for 78 minutes and 32 seconds of a possible 80 minutes. It has not trailed at all. It has led for at least 39 minutes in each game. They’re not perfect. They’re gonna lose again at some point. But they’re pretty damn good. So let me finish with this: Enjoy this team. Don’t worry about next season right now. Don’t worry about whether you think Cuonzo Martin is the right guy to lead this program for a decade. You have a good team NOW. Maybe you’ll have one next year and the year after that and maybe you won’t. My friend and colleague Sam Mellinger always says “Nobody can tell you how to be a fan” but at the risk of breaking that rule, don’t miss this team because you’re worried about the team a year or two from now. Good basketball hasn’t been all that common around here the last few years. Enjoy it while you know you have it.
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