-Mizzou used Connor Vanover as a hub in the high post on their first three possessions and the offense seemed to run fairly smoothly for a while after. I think even just that little bit of penetration allows for a lot more off-the-ball movement than just playing hot potato around the perimeter. Vanover's height makes it easy to get him the ball and while he's not an elite passer, they really just need him to see over the top of the defense and make the right reads. It felt like that's a wrinkle the offense was missing when it went through its slumps.
-That was probably the best half Noah Carter's had this season. He's hitting everything, he's coming up with big rebounds, his hands have stayed active and he's made very few mistakes. He's been one of the team's most consistent players this year. I don't know that he'll be the No. 1 option most nights, but he's been pretty good as the No. 2 or 3.
-Turnovers seem to really make the difference for this team. Six different players have come up with a steal today and Mizzou's scored double-digit points off turnovers already (it feels like all of them have come off turnovers to be honest).
-HOWEVER, once Loyola started tightening up a bit late in the half, Mizzou got caught gambling a lot on defense, leading to the 14-0 run. Loyola also came up with a few offensive rebounds that led to second-chance points, which negates some of the turnovers they had earlier. Look, every team is going to have their runs. That's basketball. The concerning thing for Mizzou is that the runs they give up tend to snowball a little bit, affecting everything they do on the court. That's going to be the difference when they start taking on the high majors. They've got to start squashing to cold stretches quickly instead of letting them get out of hand.
-That was probably the best half Noah Carter's had this season. He's hitting everything, he's coming up with big rebounds, his hands have stayed active and he's made very few mistakes. He's been one of the team's most consistent players this year. I don't know that he'll be the No. 1 option most nights, but he's been pretty good as the No. 2 or 3.
-Turnovers seem to really make the difference for this team. Six different players have come up with a steal today and Mizzou's scored double-digit points off turnovers already (it feels like all of them have come off turnovers to be honest).
-HOWEVER, once Loyola started tightening up a bit late in the half, Mizzou got caught gambling a lot on defense, leading to the 14-0 run. Loyola also came up with a few offensive rebounds that led to second-chance points, which negates some of the turnovers they had earlier. Look, every team is going to have their runs. That's basketball. The concerning thing for Mizzou is that the runs they give up tend to snowball a little bit, affecting everything they do on the court. That's going to be the difference when they start taking on the high majors. They've got to start squashing to cold stretches quickly instead of letting them get out of hand.
