-Last year, the best part of the team's resume was that it didn't have any bad losses. You can't claim that this year. That was really bad loss.
-I don't quite understand why Mizzou likes to shoot 3-pointers from NBA range. Caleb Grill had one early in the half that was nearly six feet off the line. Honor had another one that was pretty far back. The 3s are only efficient if you can actually score consistently from there, and the percentages drop down the further from the basket you get. I get that it's an open look, but that doesn't necessarily make it a good look.
-There were stretches where Ant Robinson might've been the best player on the floor tonight. The assist to Grill in the corner for a 3 (twice), the alley-oop to Aidan Shaw, the steals on defense. He is far ahead of schedule and it seems like his confidence is building each game. When Mizzou runs into trouble, that's who Dennis Gates is throwing in there. I wrote this in a game story a few nights ago, but it should be noted again he's sorta kinda playing out of position a lot of times, too, in lineups with Nick Honor and Sean East. He's been awesome.
-I'll have to check the numbers after this game, but my guess is that the defensive stats with Noah Carter as the tallest player on the court have not been very good. I just think it helps significantly to have some real length at the 5 and Carter, try as he might and through no fault of his own, doesn't provide that. He's more effective at the 4 spot. Case in point: did you see JSU's guy turn back on the fast break when he saw Jordan Butler in the paint?
-Grill had a good game. It's the type of response you wanted to see from him after what happened at Minnesota. It stinks for him that it happened in this game.
-I thought it was very interesting to see Jordan Butler in the closing lineup. That feels like something to keep an eye on moving forward.
-I think the biggest red flag from this game was the assist-to-turnover ratio. JSU is an athletic and physical team, a lot like what Mizzou is going to see in the SEC. Taking care of the ball has to be a bigger priority in a game like this. It helped JSU go on a couple of runs that kept the game close. That last turnover killed Mizzou. The execution just wasn't there down the stretch.
-This is definitely the type of loss that makes you readjust expectations. But as Dennis Gates said after the win at Minnesota, one game isn't going to define the team. There are a lot more games on the schedule. There's time to bounce back. But oof, you did not want this game to be the once you bounced back from.
-I don't quite understand why Mizzou likes to shoot 3-pointers from NBA range. Caleb Grill had one early in the half that was nearly six feet off the line. Honor had another one that was pretty far back. The 3s are only efficient if you can actually score consistently from there, and the percentages drop down the further from the basket you get. I get that it's an open look, but that doesn't necessarily make it a good look.
-There were stretches where Ant Robinson might've been the best player on the floor tonight. The assist to Grill in the corner for a 3 (twice), the alley-oop to Aidan Shaw, the steals on defense. He is far ahead of schedule and it seems like his confidence is building each game. When Mizzou runs into trouble, that's who Dennis Gates is throwing in there. I wrote this in a game story a few nights ago, but it should be noted again he's sorta kinda playing out of position a lot of times, too, in lineups with Nick Honor and Sean East. He's been awesome.
-I'll have to check the numbers after this game, but my guess is that the defensive stats with Noah Carter as the tallest player on the court have not been very good. I just think it helps significantly to have some real length at the 5 and Carter, try as he might and through no fault of his own, doesn't provide that. He's more effective at the 4 spot. Case in point: did you see JSU's guy turn back on the fast break when he saw Jordan Butler in the paint?
-Grill had a good game. It's the type of response you wanted to see from him after what happened at Minnesota. It stinks for him that it happened in this game.
-I thought it was very interesting to see Jordan Butler in the closing lineup. That feels like something to keep an eye on moving forward.
-I think the biggest red flag from this game was the assist-to-turnover ratio. JSU is an athletic and physical team, a lot like what Mizzou is going to see in the SEC. Taking care of the ball has to be a bigger priority in a game like this. It helped JSU go on a couple of runs that kept the game close. That last turnover killed Mizzou. The execution just wasn't there down the stretch.
-This is definitely the type of loss that makes you readjust expectations. But as Dennis Gates said after the win at Minnesota, one game isn't going to define the team. There are a lot more games on the schedule. There's time to bounce back. But oof, you did not want this game to be the once you bounced back from.
