-Mizzou's ball pressure continued paying dividends. I thought the funniest part was when Colby Rogers literally had to shove Ant Robinson off of him and picked up an offensive foul. And was awesome defensively today.
-I thought Mizzou unlocked a couple of new dimensions to its offense with Sean East driving into the lane and kicking the ball out for open 3s. He hit Connor Vanover and Caleb Grill in rhythm and laid it in the few times he had a lane to. East also started looking for Vanover on pick and rolls and lobbing it to him over the top of the defense, which I feel like they should have been doing all along. East's vision was on point today.
-I thought Grill was essential today. He came up with a double-double and in a really physical game like this, I think it helps to have a big and strong guard to give your team an edge. He's taking on Tre Gomillion's mantle in that respect (he's more skilled than Tre was, but still).
-The defense down the stretch was pretty atrocious. Mizzou's bigs were getting cooked on the pick and rolls and it let Wichita State keep it close. Some of the layups the Shockers were getting weren't even contested. Aidan Shaw having to sit with four fouls was part of the issue, but still, you'd expect more resistance from the likes of Noah Carter, Jordan Butler and Vanover. I said in my halftime thoughts I didn't expect WSU shooting 50% from outside to hold, and it didn't, but the team might've been in deep trouble if it had.
-Not Mizzou's best day shooting from the field, but they did a good job of getting to the line and hitting their free throws - something they haven't done in past games. It helped them come out with the double-digit win.
-That's two really hard-fought wins over very solid opponents. They probably need to come out with two more wins in the next three games to feel good about going to the NCAA tournament. They'll start off the stretch with the Jayhawks next weekend. The real season's starting to heat up.
-I thought Mizzou unlocked a couple of new dimensions to its offense with Sean East driving into the lane and kicking the ball out for open 3s. He hit Connor Vanover and Caleb Grill in rhythm and laid it in the few times he had a lane to. East also started looking for Vanover on pick and rolls and lobbing it to him over the top of the defense, which I feel like they should have been doing all along. East's vision was on point today.
-I thought Grill was essential today. He came up with a double-double and in a really physical game like this, I think it helps to have a big and strong guard to give your team an edge. He's taking on Tre Gomillion's mantle in that respect (he's more skilled than Tre was, but still).
-The defense down the stretch was pretty atrocious. Mizzou's bigs were getting cooked on the pick and rolls and it let Wichita State keep it close. Some of the layups the Shockers were getting weren't even contested. Aidan Shaw having to sit with four fouls was part of the issue, but still, you'd expect more resistance from the likes of Noah Carter, Jordan Butler and Vanover. I said in my halftime thoughts I didn't expect WSU shooting 50% from outside to hold, and it didn't, but the team might've been in deep trouble if it had.
-Not Mizzou's best day shooting from the field, but they did a good job of getting to the line and hitting their free throws - something they haven't done in past games. It helped them come out with the double-digit win.
-That's two really hard-fought wins over very solid opponents. They probably need to come out with two more wins in the next three games to feel good about going to the NCAA tournament. They'll start off the stretch with the Jayhawks next weekend. The real season's starting to heat up.
