-The offense didn't get going right away for Mizzou, but credit to them for not giving up on defense. Through the first 10 minutes of the second half, Kansas only outscored the Tigers by two. They forced the second-most turnovers Kansas has had all season and kept them under their scoring average. Hunter Dickinson had a below-average night - that's not by coincidence. I really don't think you can be too displeased with the defensive effort.
-I saw a lot or people saying Nick Honor shouldn't be shooting as much and, I get it, he didn't play well today. But I'll pose the question again: Who else did you trust to shoot the ball outside of Sean East? Nobody else really had it going. Honor was at least getting to the paint effectively - it was always everything that came after that was the trouble. I felt like Mizzou's offense looked pretty stagnant with no hard cuts, no off-ball action. They just kept running the pick-and-roll into a brick wall. Those of you who were saying Sean and Nick were dribbling too much - I agree with you. It just didn't seem like they knew what else to do.
-Of all people, I did not expect Connor Vanover to be the one who emerged as a No. 2 option for the team. He is the opposite of athletic - I don't think I've ever seen him get more than a couple of inches off the ground - and you'd like him to be more physical on both ends. But you can't deny the kind of impact he was making out there. Kansas rarely wanted to go inside against him. And his soft touch provided a spark when Mizzou was dead in the water.
-The rebounding concerns reared back up. As impressive as Mizzou was at forcing turnovers, Kansas was able to make up the lost opportunities with offensive rebounds. Aidan Shaw was underwhelming on the glass but you can't pin it all on him. Again, I think Caleb Grill being healthy would've made a difference in this respect.
-What's crazy is, from a minutes perspective, I think Mizzou actually outplayed Kansas for the majority of this game. But when it was the Jayhawks' turn to go on a run, they were head and shoulders above the Tigers. I mean, outside of that run to end the first half, Mizzou outscored them and looked like a team that could hang. That run did obviously happen, though, and those types of cold stretches are what have to be worked on going forward.
-This loss doesn't tank the season - you're not going to lose ground for dropping a road game to the No. 2 team in the country. But the Tigers do need more statement wins and neither game is going to be a cakewalk. Win both and you're in fine shape to make the tournament. Win one and it's survivable. Lose both and you're probably in trouble. We'll see how they respond.
-I saw a lot or people saying Nick Honor shouldn't be shooting as much and, I get it, he didn't play well today. But I'll pose the question again: Who else did you trust to shoot the ball outside of Sean East? Nobody else really had it going. Honor was at least getting to the paint effectively - it was always everything that came after that was the trouble. I felt like Mizzou's offense looked pretty stagnant with no hard cuts, no off-ball action. They just kept running the pick-and-roll into a brick wall. Those of you who were saying Sean and Nick were dribbling too much - I agree with you. It just didn't seem like they knew what else to do.
-Of all people, I did not expect Connor Vanover to be the one who emerged as a No. 2 option for the team. He is the opposite of athletic - I don't think I've ever seen him get more than a couple of inches off the ground - and you'd like him to be more physical on both ends. But you can't deny the kind of impact he was making out there. Kansas rarely wanted to go inside against him. And his soft touch provided a spark when Mizzou was dead in the water.
-The rebounding concerns reared back up. As impressive as Mizzou was at forcing turnovers, Kansas was able to make up the lost opportunities with offensive rebounds. Aidan Shaw was underwhelming on the glass but you can't pin it all on him. Again, I think Caleb Grill being healthy would've made a difference in this respect.
-What's crazy is, from a minutes perspective, I think Mizzou actually outplayed Kansas for the majority of this game. But when it was the Jayhawks' turn to go on a run, they were head and shoulders above the Tigers. I mean, outside of that run to end the first half, Mizzou outscored them and looked like a team that could hang. That run did obviously happen, though, and those types of cold stretches are what have to be worked on going forward.
-This loss doesn't tank the season - you're not going to lose ground for dropping a road game to the No. 2 team in the country. But the Tigers do need more statement wins and neither game is going to be a cakewalk. Win both and you're in fine shape to make the tournament. Win one and it's survivable. Lose both and you're probably in trouble. We'll see how they respond.
