-Sean East continues to be a bright spot. We saw what it looked like when he was out. We saw what he looked like playing sick. But when he's healthy, he's the team's best player, plain and simple.
-Noah Carter had a great night as well. But once again, Mizzou needed like four guys to get going offensively (like the Volunteers did) and instead it got two. Tennessee does that to most teams, though.
-I'm not gonna say the foul calls went pretty similarly to how the did at Ole Miss. But just like that game, I don't think the free throw disparity was the reason Mizzou lost this one.
-The No. 1 key to the game I wrote in my preview was to slow down Dalton Knecht. The Tigers did that really well in the first half - Tamar Bates put the clamps on him (which might also be why Bates had a rough shooting night). But with a player as good as he is, he only needs to see the ball fall through the net a couple of times to get going. And that's what happened with him. I don't think there was any change in the way they defended him. I think Knecht just forced the issue a little more and got into a rhythm. That was the real difference in this game: Tennessee had a lottery pick on its roster to carry them and Mizzou did not.
-That was probably the best defense Mizzou's played all season. It was probably the worst offense Tennessee's played all year. And it still wasn't enough for the win. The margin of error is just so infinitesimally small. They have to have literally every single thing go right for them just to be *in* the game.
-Still, I think this is a game that gives Mizzou some confidence back heading into the final five games of the year. To play that well against the No. 5 team in the country and give them as many problems as they did is encouraging. It speaks to the fight the team's shown all year. They're gonna remain hungry for that first win, which is all you can really ask for at this point. I think I've made this comparison before but Mizzou is like Steve Rodgers before he turns into Captain America. They've got heart...but that's about all they have.
-Noah Carter had a great night as well. But once again, Mizzou needed like four guys to get going offensively (like the Volunteers did) and instead it got two. Tennessee does that to most teams, though.
-I'm not gonna say the foul calls went pretty similarly to how the did at Ole Miss. But just like that game, I don't think the free throw disparity was the reason Mizzou lost this one.
-The No. 1 key to the game I wrote in my preview was to slow down Dalton Knecht. The Tigers did that really well in the first half - Tamar Bates put the clamps on him (which might also be why Bates had a rough shooting night). But with a player as good as he is, he only needs to see the ball fall through the net a couple of times to get going. And that's what happened with him. I don't think there was any change in the way they defended him. I think Knecht just forced the issue a little more and got into a rhythm. That was the real difference in this game: Tennessee had a lottery pick on its roster to carry them and Mizzou did not.
-That was probably the best defense Mizzou's played all season. It was probably the worst offense Tennessee's played all year. And it still wasn't enough for the win. The margin of error is just so infinitesimally small. They have to have literally every single thing go right for them just to be *in* the game.
-Still, I think this is a game that gives Mizzou some confidence back heading into the final five games of the year. To play that well against the No. 5 team in the country and give them as many problems as they did is encouraging. It speaks to the fight the team's shown all year. They're gonna remain hungry for that first win, which is all you can really ask for at this point. I think I've made this comparison before but Mizzou is like Steve Rodgers before he turns into Captain America. They've got heart...but that's about all they have.
