*There are no moral victories. Let's say that first. You're a Power Five basketball team, you want to win every game. That said, on the road against a top 25 team, I said going in what I wanted to see was some fight and effort and competitiveness and a chance to win the game with eight minutes left. They had that. I'm not gonna be upset about that.
*I understand the people who will be upset that they were in position to win and didn't. Opportunities at wins like that don't come around every day and when you have one, you'd like to grab it. Up 49-46, they got outscored 10-1 over the end of regulation and start of OT.
*I didn't like the shot at the end of regulation. It looked like they were hoping to get Dru Smith free under the basket, but Xavier defended it well. I can't hate an open three for your best shooter, but Mark Smith shot that like he had .5 seconds left instead of 5. He was off balance and it never really had a chance. But again, he's your best shooter and he had a look. The set wasn't terrible. The execution of it was poor.
*I hope you didn't read my halftime thoughts. If you did, what I meant to say was that Dru Smith is a really good player and he is going to do a lot of really good things for this team.
*Xavier Pinson had a rough first half, but he was phenomenal in the second half. And his three in OT was all but down and would have made it a one point game with about ten seconds left. He's really grown up. I said at the beginning of the year I thought you'd see him and Dru play together a lot. I think that's their best lineup.
*As the TV guys said, I'm not sure Javon Pickett is the guy you want driving the ball with a minute left down five. He's a tough player, great defender. He's not really much of an offensive threat right now.
*Kudos to Jeremiah Tilmon for staying on the floor with three fouls for a LONG time. I thought two of his first three were questionable calls. I didn't think they were terrible, but they were questionable. But by now, you know they're going to be called. But he adjusted and he stayed on the floor for his team the entire second half and OT. They're a different team with him on the floor. Bad basket interference late, but overall a decent night considering the way it was going at halftime.
*Also a quick shoutout for some good minutes from Reed Nikko tonight. As I said all last year, he embraces and fulfills his role better than anyone on the roster.
*Rough night for the freshmen, but you kind of expected that going in. Kobe Brown took some bad shots and went 1-6 from the floor, but he did grab five rebounds and I was surprised he wasn't on the floor in OT. Tray Jackson was and it was rough. He had a turnover, a foul and got beat for an offensive rebound. Mario McKinney needs to slow down before he's going to see the floor much. He was out of control in the first half and playing way too much one on one. That's not gonna get you minutes for Cuonzo Martin.
*Overall, if Missouri ends up one win short of the tournament, you'll probably regret this one. But they showed me things tonight. The first half was hideous offensively, but they did enough defensively to give themselves a chance and they came all the way back. They came back and made it interesting in OT when it looked like it might not be. This team is a good amount better than last year. They'll beat some ranked teams and they'll win some road games. They just weren't quite ready to do it tonight.
Mitchell is writing up the And One for this game and will post it in a bit.
*I understand the people who will be upset that they were in position to win and didn't. Opportunities at wins like that don't come around every day and when you have one, you'd like to grab it. Up 49-46, they got outscored 10-1 over the end of regulation and start of OT.
*I didn't like the shot at the end of regulation. It looked like they were hoping to get Dru Smith free under the basket, but Xavier defended it well. I can't hate an open three for your best shooter, but Mark Smith shot that like he had .5 seconds left instead of 5. He was off balance and it never really had a chance. But again, he's your best shooter and he had a look. The set wasn't terrible. The execution of it was poor.
*I hope you didn't read my halftime thoughts. If you did, what I meant to say was that Dru Smith is a really good player and he is going to do a lot of really good things for this team.
*Xavier Pinson had a rough first half, but he was phenomenal in the second half. And his three in OT was all but down and would have made it a one point game with about ten seconds left. He's really grown up. I said at the beginning of the year I thought you'd see him and Dru play together a lot. I think that's their best lineup.
*As the TV guys said, I'm not sure Javon Pickett is the guy you want driving the ball with a minute left down five. He's a tough player, great defender. He's not really much of an offensive threat right now.
*Kudos to Jeremiah Tilmon for staying on the floor with three fouls for a LONG time. I thought two of his first three were questionable calls. I didn't think they were terrible, but they were questionable. But by now, you know they're going to be called. But he adjusted and he stayed on the floor for his team the entire second half and OT. They're a different team with him on the floor. Bad basket interference late, but overall a decent night considering the way it was going at halftime.
*Also a quick shoutout for some good minutes from Reed Nikko tonight. As I said all last year, he embraces and fulfills his role better than anyone on the roster.
*Rough night for the freshmen, but you kind of expected that going in. Kobe Brown took some bad shots and went 1-6 from the floor, but he did grab five rebounds and I was surprised he wasn't on the floor in OT. Tray Jackson was and it was rough. He had a turnover, a foul and got beat for an offensive rebound. Mario McKinney needs to slow down before he's going to see the floor much. He was out of control in the first half and playing way too much one on one. That's not gonna get you minutes for Cuonzo Martin.
*Overall, if Missouri ends up one win short of the tournament, you'll probably regret this one. But they showed me things tonight. The first half was hideous offensively, but they did enough defensively to give themselves a chance and they came all the way back. They came back and made it interesting in OT when it looked like it might not be. This team is a good amount better than last year. They'll beat some ranked teams and they'll win some road games. They just weren't quite ready to do it tonight.
Mitchell is writing up the And One for this game and will post it in a bit.
