1. Don't look now, but....
2. Last post game, we talked a little bit about the things to watch. Won't rehash why, but rather, jump right into the numbers
--3 point shooting: 9-31 (29%; meh)
--Def foul rate: Outshot at line 16-21 to 14-17(that's not horrible; though many of ours were late)
--Turnover rate: 9.9%!!!! (that's absolutely miniscule, and fantastic; i'll check later, but that has to be one of the lowest %'s in Martin's tenure)
3. Oregon is gonna be a problem for a lot of teams this year. Sure, they were shorthanded, but cry me a damn river. Yes, it was their first game of the year, and that caused them some issues. Big deal. Mizzou would've had virtually no scout on Oregon tonight. No games played, entirely different roster etc. Mizzou went in mostly blind tonight and came out on top. This will be a win that ages pretty well. It also adds some legitimacy to the conference. Easily the best win of any SEC team this year. If Mizzou wanted to announce themselves as a team to watch, this was a hell of a way to do it.
4. The thing that struck me more than anything else tonight was the composure the group showed (insert Old School gif). Every time the lead slipped away, someone made a play. Every time Oregon was on a run, we had a guy step up. There were no panic moments. I'm sure there were times when the group here thought things were going south. And they may have in the past. But tonight, Mizzou answered the bell every time. Oregon threw the defensive kitchen sink at Mizzou...half court traps, match up zone, full zone, man v man, 1-3-1 full court, full court man...7 turnovers. Countless points in transition shredding it to pieces. Oregon is probably not going to be a team that hangs their hat on full court pressure but they had to do it tonight. Because Mizzou made them, and then beat it. You're gonna hear a lot about how "old" mizzou is. That's accurate, of teams that have logged a game, Mizzou is 9th "oldest." Even moreso, they rank 3rd in "minutes continuity," which doesn't just measure how old they are, but how many guys were with the team and playing previously. Richmond won at UK with experience. Mizzou beat a talented team who ranked 231st in minutes continuity. This matters in college ball.
5. This is a really, really nice win. But still, fvck that arena.
6. Guts time
2 PT FG
Oregon: 19-42 (45.2%)
Mizzou: 21-34 (61.8%)
3 PT FG
Oregon: 7-21 (33%)
Mizzou: 9-31 (29% Look familiar???)
TO
Oregon 14.1%
Mizzou: 9.9% (these were both low, but Mizzou really put their foot down in the 1st thanks to some points off TO)
Off Reb %
Oregon: 30.8%
Mizzou: 25.0% (these numbers need to improve)
Assists:
Oregon: 12 on 26 made fg
Mizzou: 17 on 30 made fg
2 point shooting and Mizzou's absurdly low TO rate won them this game. And many of those 2's were via turnover or press break.
7. Pinson was dreadful in the first half. Like, bad freshman Pinson. He was phenomenal in the 2nd. Like all league Pinson. Credit to him he really hit some big shots. None bigger than the 3 to stop a run of 14 straight misses. And just for a moment consider, Mizzou knocked of a top 25 opponent after going 0-14 over a stretch of possessions that represented ~17% of the game. That's right, for nearly 7 minutes worth of possessions (not actual game time) Mizzou didn't score. And still won with ease. And X was a big part of that. He scored 8 points over the 5 possessions that followed that streak. MVP.
8. Honorable mention to Tilmon. Dude was a monster tonight (aside from the air ball which the no crowd commentary made amazing). 11 points, 9 boards, 2 assists and a block. 30 minutes played. That's not "hot game" Tilmon. That's putting in work. Mark was also huge in getting the lead up with 15 big points. Also credit to Pickett who had a few tough possessions, but rebounded with a line of 13 points, 3 boards, 1 helper and 1 takeway to one TO (poor call). Dru had one of those "quiet" nights, where you hardly notice him save for the yacked lay-in, but still solid with 11 points, 4 boards, 4 assists and 3 steals. Buggs isn't a guy the numbers are going to notice much, and that's still a thing. But there is certainly an air of...composure...with him in the game. Solid player.
9. The combo forward spot has got to step it up. Kobe and Mitch combined for 40 minutes tonight, tallying 11 points, 10 boards, 5 fouls and 2 to on 5-12. I hesitate to lump Mitch in there, because he did have a decent game in his role and spent some time in the post. But collectively they're gonna need more than that.
10. The refs weren't great. I don't think they were nearly as bad as I've seen before. But they didn't impact the outcome (tonight), so I'll take it. Mizzou was the better team on this day.
11. Up next is WSU. Last I saw they're down to 8 total players for their first 2 games (including us). They got their feet wet with a 5 point win over Oral Roberts (yes, that Oral Roberts). I imagine that will be a tough game. Road crowds will be mostly non-factors, but they'll be up for that game. And Mizzou will have to deal with success. Winning is a process. Being good is step 1. Executing is step 2. Being tough enough to repeat it is step 3.
Closing...If you needed a reason to buy in, the team can't do a whole lot more through 2 games to get you too. I get it. Year 1 was disappointing with no MPJ (though was an incredible coaching job getting that group in the NCAA's), year 2 was a wash once Porter was out, and year 3 was a doubt builder. But there were markers of quality present. Not always. Not enough. But visible if you cared to look. Nabbing a tier 1 win on a neutral court (for what that matters with the committee's announced BS "eye test" business) is a statement. What comes next determines how much it means. I wish we weren't mired in a pandemic for multiple reasons, but this group not getting much fan support in person is on the list somewhere.
2. Last post game, we talked a little bit about the things to watch. Won't rehash why, but rather, jump right into the numbers
--3 point shooting: 9-31 (29%; meh)
--Def foul rate: Outshot at line 16-21 to 14-17(that's not horrible; though many of ours were late)
--Turnover rate: 9.9%!!!! (that's absolutely miniscule, and fantastic; i'll check later, but that has to be one of the lowest %'s in Martin's tenure)
3. Oregon is gonna be a problem for a lot of teams this year. Sure, they were shorthanded, but cry me a damn river. Yes, it was their first game of the year, and that caused them some issues. Big deal. Mizzou would've had virtually no scout on Oregon tonight. No games played, entirely different roster etc. Mizzou went in mostly blind tonight and came out on top. This will be a win that ages pretty well. It also adds some legitimacy to the conference. Easily the best win of any SEC team this year. If Mizzou wanted to announce themselves as a team to watch, this was a hell of a way to do it.
4. The thing that struck me more than anything else tonight was the composure the group showed (insert Old School gif). Every time the lead slipped away, someone made a play. Every time Oregon was on a run, we had a guy step up. There were no panic moments. I'm sure there were times when the group here thought things were going south. And they may have in the past. But tonight, Mizzou answered the bell every time. Oregon threw the defensive kitchen sink at Mizzou...half court traps, match up zone, full zone, man v man, 1-3-1 full court, full court man...7 turnovers. Countless points in transition shredding it to pieces. Oregon is probably not going to be a team that hangs their hat on full court pressure but they had to do it tonight. Because Mizzou made them, and then beat it. You're gonna hear a lot about how "old" mizzou is. That's accurate, of teams that have logged a game, Mizzou is 9th "oldest." Even moreso, they rank 3rd in "minutes continuity," which doesn't just measure how old they are, but how many guys were with the team and playing previously. Richmond won at UK with experience. Mizzou beat a talented team who ranked 231st in minutes continuity. This matters in college ball.
5. This is a really, really nice win. But still, fvck that arena.
6. Guts time
2 PT FG
Oregon: 19-42 (45.2%)
Mizzou: 21-34 (61.8%)
3 PT FG
Oregon: 7-21 (33%)
Mizzou: 9-31 (29% Look familiar???)
TO
Oregon 14.1%
Mizzou: 9.9% (these were both low, but Mizzou really put their foot down in the 1st thanks to some points off TO)
Off Reb %
Oregon: 30.8%
Mizzou: 25.0% (these numbers need to improve)
Assists:
Oregon: 12 on 26 made fg
Mizzou: 17 on 30 made fg
2 point shooting and Mizzou's absurdly low TO rate won them this game. And many of those 2's were via turnover or press break.
7. Pinson was dreadful in the first half. Like, bad freshman Pinson. He was phenomenal in the 2nd. Like all league Pinson. Credit to him he really hit some big shots. None bigger than the 3 to stop a run of 14 straight misses. And just for a moment consider, Mizzou knocked of a top 25 opponent after going 0-14 over a stretch of possessions that represented ~17% of the game. That's right, for nearly 7 minutes worth of possessions (not actual game time) Mizzou didn't score. And still won with ease. And X was a big part of that. He scored 8 points over the 5 possessions that followed that streak. MVP.
8. Honorable mention to Tilmon. Dude was a monster tonight (aside from the air ball which the no crowd commentary made amazing). 11 points, 9 boards, 2 assists and a block. 30 minutes played. That's not "hot game" Tilmon. That's putting in work. Mark was also huge in getting the lead up with 15 big points. Also credit to Pickett who had a few tough possessions, but rebounded with a line of 13 points, 3 boards, 1 helper and 1 takeway to one TO (poor call). Dru had one of those "quiet" nights, where you hardly notice him save for the yacked lay-in, but still solid with 11 points, 4 boards, 4 assists and 3 steals. Buggs isn't a guy the numbers are going to notice much, and that's still a thing. But there is certainly an air of...composure...with him in the game. Solid player.
9. The combo forward spot has got to step it up. Kobe and Mitch combined for 40 minutes tonight, tallying 11 points, 10 boards, 5 fouls and 2 to on 5-12. I hesitate to lump Mitch in there, because he did have a decent game in his role and spent some time in the post. But collectively they're gonna need more than that.
10. The refs weren't great. I don't think they were nearly as bad as I've seen before. But they didn't impact the outcome (tonight), so I'll take it. Mizzou was the better team on this day.
11. Up next is WSU. Last I saw they're down to 8 total players for their first 2 games (including us). They got their feet wet with a 5 point win over Oral Roberts (yes, that Oral Roberts). I imagine that will be a tough game. Road crowds will be mostly non-factors, but they'll be up for that game. And Mizzou will have to deal with success. Winning is a process. Being good is step 1. Executing is step 2. Being tough enough to repeat it is step 3.
Closing...If you needed a reason to buy in, the team can't do a whole lot more through 2 games to get you too. I get it. Year 1 was disappointing with no MPJ (though was an incredible coaching job getting that group in the NCAA's), year 2 was a wash once Porter was out, and year 3 was a doubt builder. But there were markers of quality present. Not always. Not enough. But visible if you cared to look. Nabbing a tier 1 win on a neutral court (for what that matters with the committee's announced BS "eye test" business) is a statement. What comes next determines how much it means. I wish we weren't mired in a pandemic for multiple reasons, but this group not getting much fan support in person is on the list somewhere.
