I’m going to start by reiterating what I said last night. I think this was the best case scenario for Missouri. They played a close game. They did nothing to hurt their seeding. And they get out of Nashville and head to Indianapolis, reducing their potential exposure to COVID issues that would jeopardize their ability to play. I know that won’t sit well with a lot of you here. I know you want to win the game, especially against Arkansas. But I think it’s accurate.
*The officiating sucked. I don’t know that it sucked more one way than the other. From what I saw it really didn’t. There were some bad calls both ways. But more than anything, there were just too many calls. That said, at some point, when you know that’s how they’re calling it, you have to adjust. Missouri didn’t. To be fair, I’m not sure Arkansas did either.
*Thanks to all of those fouls, Arkansas turned the ball over on more than 26% of its possessions. Missouri topped that, turning it over on 27%.
*I thought maybe it would be a good omen that Mizzou blew a double digit lead early. Get it out of the way in the first half. It was not.
*Missouri scored 23 points in the first 10 minutes and 42 seconds. It scored 27 points in the next 25 minutes and 9 seconds. This team simply has too many prolonged offensive droughts. Included in that span was a 13-0 Arkansas run and a 13-3 Arkansas run. That’s 11 minutes and 26 seconds (more than a quarter of the game) in which Mizzou was outscored 26-3. You aren’t winning many games like that.
*That said, the Tigers didn’t quit. They never do. They almost always make things close, one way or the other. Despite Mitchell Smith and Jeremiah Tilmon fouling out, Parker Braun and Kobe Brown led a 7-0 run that got it to 63-60. Missouri played perfect defense for 28 seconds. They forced a loose ball. And then JD Notae grabbed it and flung it in the general direction of the basket and it went in. Sometimes, a guy has a night. It was Notae’s night. Without that basket, Missouri might complete the comeback and win the game. But it went in. And that kind of took the wind out of the comeback.
*It’s been a difficult year for Mark Smith. He has taken so much heat. I think sometimes it has been too much. Tonight, it’s fair. He was 3-13 from the floor. That included a layup that Arkansas didn’t even try to contest late. He had no assists and two turnovers, the second of which came on a dreadful pass when Missouri still had a fighting chance in the last minute. The kid works his ass off by everything we’ve ever heard. But it’s tough to keep playing him as many minutes as he’s playing right now.
*Unfortunately for Missouri, Mark’s struggles continued and coincided with two of Mitchell Smith’s worst nights of the season. He had two points, one assist, no rebounds and five fouls in ten minutes tonight. That came on the heels of no points and six rebounds against Georgia in 20 minutes. That’s two points without a field goal in 30 minutes over two nights. And the defense wasn’t what Missouri has come to expect out of him.
*All of that adds up to this: Right now, Missouri has four players it can somewhat count on. You may not get Jeremiah Tilmon (the fact I haven’t even mentioned him yet says a lot about why the game went the way it did tonight) or Xavier Pinson every night, but you know they’ve got the ability. You’ll get Dru Smith every night. You get Kobe Brown often enough. Those four can be enough for Missouri to win a game in the tournament. If they’re going to be any threat to do more than that, Cuonzo needs more. It doesn’t matter if it’s Mark or Mitchell Smith or Javon Pickett or Drew Buggs or, hell, Ed Chang. It doesn’t matter WHO it is, it just has to be somebody. This team doesn’t have a ton of depth. But right now, it has almost none. If it’s not getting excellent efforts from the four guys I mentioned above, it’s not coming from anywhere right now.
*If I’m Cuonzo, I tell Dru, Tilmon and Pinson, this is your time. This is your three weeks. It’s probably all you’ve got left here. It can last one game or a bunch. But it’s entirely up to the three of you. Be more selfish. Feel free to take over. You’d rather lose with those three guys trying to get it done and failing than lose any other way.
*Missouri’s in. I think it’s in as a 7 seed or better (depending on which teams might not be able to play). We’ll know on Sunday. The best time of the year is here. The NCAA Tournament was the only sporting event we just flat lost last year. We didn’t get one. COVID robbed it from us. We get it this year and the team we all follow is in it. That’s fantastic. The season might not have been as good as you wanted it to be, but it was good enough to earn a shot. A shot’s all you need. Get your couch groove formed, the Madness is about to begin.
*The officiating sucked. I don’t know that it sucked more one way than the other. From what I saw it really didn’t. There were some bad calls both ways. But more than anything, there were just too many calls. That said, at some point, when you know that’s how they’re calling it, you have to adjust. Missouri didn’t. To be fair, I’m not sure Arkansas did either.
*Thanks to all of those fouls, Arkansas turned the ball over on more than 26% of its possessions. Missouri topped that, turning it over on 27%.
*I thought maybe it would be a good omen that Mizzou blew a double digit lead early. Get it out of the way in the first half. It was not.
*Missouri scored 23 points in the first 10 minutes and 42 seconds. It scored 27 points in the next 25 minutes and 9 seconds. This team simply has too many prolonged offensive droughts. Included in that span was a 13-0 Arkansas run and a 13-3 Arkansas run. That’s 11 minutes and 26 seconds (more than a quarter of the game) in which Mizzou was outscored 26-3. You aren’t winning many games like that.
*That said, the Tigers didn’t quit. They never do. They almost always make things close, one way or the other. Despite Mitchell Smith and Jeremiah Tilmon fouling out, Parker Braun and Kobe Brown led a 7-0 run that got it to 63-60. Missouri played perfect defense for 28 seconds. They forced a loose ball. And then JD Notae grabbed it and flung it in the general direction of the basket and it went in. Sometimes, a guy has a night. It was Notae’s night. Without that basket, Missouri might complete the comeback and win the game. But it went in. And that kind of took the wind out of the comeback.
*It’s been a difficult year for Mark Smith. He has taken so much heat. I think sometimes it has been too much. Tonight, it’s fair. He was 3-13 from the floor. That included a layup that Arkansas didn’t even try to contest late. He had no assists and two turnovers, the second of which came on a dreadful pass when Missouri still had a fighting chance in the last minute. The kid works his ass off by everything we’ve ever heard. But it’s tough to keep playing him as many minutes as he’s playing right now.
*Unfortunately for Missouri, Mark’s struggles continued and coincided with two of Mitchell Smith’s worst nights of the season. He had two points, one assist, no rebounds and five fouls in ten minutes tonight. That came on the heels of no points and six rebounds against Georgia in 20 minutes. That’s two points without a field goal in 30 minutes over two nights. And the defense wasn’t what Missouri has come to expect out of him.
*All of that adds up to this: Right now, Missouri has four players it can somewhat count on. You may not get Jeremiah Tilmon (the fact I haven’t even mentioned him yet says a lot about why the game went the way it did tonight) or Xavier Pinson every night, but you know they’ve got the ability. You’ll get Dru Smith every night. You get Kobe Brown often enough. Those four can be enough for Missouri to win a game in the tournament. If they’re going to be any threat to do more than that, Cuonzo needs more. It doesn’t matter if it’s Mark or Mitchell Smith or Javon Pickett or Drew Buggs or, hell, Ed Chang. It doesn’t matter WHO it is, it just has to be somebody. This team doesn’t have a ton of depth. But right now, it has almost none. If it’s not getting excellent efforts from the four guys I mentioned above, it’s not coming from anywhere right now.
*If I’m Cuonzo, I tell Dru, Tilmon and Pinson, this is your time. This is your three weeks. It’s probably all you’ve got left here. It can last one game or a bunch. But it’s entirely up to the three of you. Be more selfish. Feel free to take over. You’d rather lose with those three guys trying to get it done and failing than lose any other way.
*Missouri’s in. I think it’s in as a 7 seed or better (depending on which teams might not be able to play). We’ll know on Sunday. The best time of the year is here. The NCAA Tournament was the only sporting event we just flat lost last year. We didn’t get one. COVID robbed it from us. We get it this year and the team we all follow is in it. That’s fantastic. The season might not have been as good as you wanted it to be, but it was good enough to earn a shot. A shot’s all you need. Get your couch groove formed, the Madness is about to begin.
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