Well...
How about we start this off right.
1. Coming into tonight, Tennessee was ranked 12th per Ken Pomeroy. The last time we beat a team ranked that high? 2014. Tennessee. Cuonzo Martin on the Vols sideline. How about that?
2. The last time we beat a "ranked" team? Same season. UCLA. Same day we were playing for an SEC east title. The first one. Does anyone even remember that win against the Bruins?
3. Enough with the good ole days. We've got a team to talk about here. Let's get the bad out of the way (with a touch of good, because this is a good night). By my count, Mizzou scored 1 fg in the first 5 minutes of the game, and the last 5 minutes of the game...COMBINED. That's not a recipe for success. Fortunately, we were something like +10 the rest of the game.
4. For those uninitiated to my posts...polls are garbage. I couldn't tell you who is #1. Couldn't tell you if we're receiving votes. I just looked it up, saw Tennessee was #21. Disregard it. I don't care. Pomeroy has them 12th, RPI had them 11th, BPI had them 18th. FWIW, WVU is ranked 11th per KP. This is a DAMN good team we played. Not one that "might be competing for a tourney spot." This is a legit squad. Lets look at their resume (ranks provided by Pomeroy):
#1 Villanova -9 (neutral)
#2 Purdue +3 (neutral)
#9 UNC -5 (home; they blew a lead in that one)
#22 Auburn -10 (home)
#29 Kentucky +11 (home)
#31 aTm +13 (home)
#43 Arkansas -2 (away; OT)
#68 NCSU +9 (neutral)
#87 Wake +19 (road)
That's a tested team. 5-4 coming in against top 100 teams. 3-3 against top 30(31) teams.
5. Speaking of Pomeroy, lets just get this all out of the way. Mizzou's new ranks:
#37 Overall (high point of season)
#22 Offense
#88 Defense (we were sitting at #108 two weeks ago)
SEC Only
Offense: 4th
eFG%: 2nd
FT%: 1st
Defense: 7th
eFG% def: 3rd
6. Pace. Pace. Pace. Mizzou played this game at their pace. They slowed it down. Mucked it up. Limited possessions. Tennessee ran 59 offensive possessions. Their prior low on the season was 66. I'm beginning to think there's something to this. Mizzou's close games late have been low possession affairs. I'm of the belief that Cuonzo is going back to his roots and slowing games down.
7. Quick stats. Rebounds Mizzou 31-28. Overall number is good, UT did have 6 more shots, however. Offensive rebounds were only 10-9, but the ones UT got, they capitalized on. That STILL needs to improve. Turnovers were 12-9. Considering how loose we are with the ball, how poor we are at forcing turnovers...and that UT ranks 37th nationally in defensive turnover %...that's a good result. Nothing exceptional in shooting percentages, or differences between the teams, except for...
FT
Mizzou: 15-17
UT: 8-13
Ball game.
8. Team has caught some flak for close/late situations. Again, they struggled offensively down the stretch (although if we can the two open 3's, the game was pretty much over at either point), but here's what I liked.
1. Up 1, with about a minute left. We doubled the post, Kash dropped to the paint and got a nice steal. Big play.
2. The full court man v. man after we went up 3 with 17 seconds left. UT got nothing...weren't even getting into their offense until ~5-6 seconds left. And...
3. The foul. I think it's a smart play. With under 5 seconds to go, don't give them a chance to beat you on one shot. Make them make one and get the board, or make both, foul, get lucky and hit a rushed shot. Smart play.
4. The free throw shooting. Upperclassmen stepped up. Puryear and Geist were clutch. That makes #3 much easier to do.
Lot of other things to talk about, but those are the bigger picture items. Had six players between 7-12 points. Lot of team contributions.
Special shout out to Kevin Puryear. A guy who's been struggling at times, came up with a double double at 12 and 10, an assist and a steal...no turnovers, two fouls. Two HUGE free throws.
This isn't a win that locks up a tournament bid. Lot of work to be done. But it's a win that will look mighty good when that time comes. Likely, based on metrics, the best remaining win (location notwithstanding) on the schedule.
It feels good to be nervous again.
How about we start this off right.
1. Coming into tonight, Tennessee was ranked 12th per Ken Pomeroy. The last time we beat a team ranked that high? 2014. Tennessee. Cuonzo Martin on the Vols sideline. How about that?
2. The last time we beat a "ranked" team? Same season. UCLA. Same day we were playing for an SEC east title. The first one. Does anyone even remember that win against the Bruins?
3. Enough with the good ole days. We've got a team to talk about here. Let's get the bad out of the way (with a touch of good, because this is a good night). By my count, Mizzou scored 1 fg in the first 5 minutes of the game, and the last 5 minutes of the game...COMBINED. That's not a recipe for success. Fortunately, we were something like +10 the rest of the game.
4. For those uninitiated to my posts...polls are garbage. I couldn't tell you who is #1. Couldn't tell you if we're receiving votes. I just looked it up, saw Tennessee was #21. Disregard it. I don't care. Pomeroy has them 12th, RPI had them 11th, BPI had them 18th. FWIW, WVU is ranked 11th per KP. This is a DAMN good team we played. Not one that "might be competing for a tourney spot." This is a legit squad. Lets look at their resume (ranks provided by Pomeroy):
#1 Villanova -9 (neutral)
#2 Purdue +3 (neutral)
#9 UNC -5 (home; they blew a lead in that one)
#22 Auburn -10 (home)
#29 Kentucky +11 (home)
#31 aTm +13 (home)
#43 Arkansas -2 (away; OT)
#68 NCSU +9 (neutral)
#87 Wake +19 (road)
That's a tested team. 5-4 coming in against top 100 teams. 3-3 against top 30(31) teams.
5. Speaking of Pomeroy, lets just get this all out of the way. Mizzou's new ranks:
#37 Overall (high point of season)
#22 Offense
#88 Defense (we were sitting at #108 two weeks ago)
SEC Only
Offense: 4th
eFG%: 2nd
FT%: 1st
Defense: 7th
eFG% def: 3rd
6. Pace. Pace. Pace. Mizzou played this game at their pace. They slowed it down. Mucked it up. Limited possessions. Tennessee ran 59 offensive possessions. Their prior low on the season was 66. I'm beginning to think there's something to this. Mizzou's close games late have been low possession affairs. I'm of the belief that Cuonzo is going back to his roots and slowing games down.
7. Quick stats. Rebounds Mizzou 31-28. Overall number is good, UT did have 6 more shots, however. Offensive rebounds were only 10-9, but the ones UT got, they capitalized on. That STILL needs to improve. Turnovers were 12-9. Considering how loose we are with the ball, how poor we are at forcing turnovers...and that UT ranks 37th nationally in defensive turnover %...that's a good result. Nothing exceptional in shooting percentages, or differences between the teams, except for...
FT
Mizzou: 15-17
UT: 8-13
Ball game.
8. Team has caught some flak for close/late situations. Again, they struggled offensively down the stretch (although if we can the two open 3's, the game was pretty much over at either point), but here's what I liked.
1. Up 1, with about a minute left. We doubled the post, Kash dropped to the paint and got a nice steal. Big play.
2. The full court man v. man after we went up 3 with 17 seconds left. UT got nothing...weren't even getting into their offense until ~5-6 seconds left. And...
3. The foul. I think it's a smart play. With under 5 seconds to go, don't give them a chance to beat you on one shot. Make them make one and get the board, or make both, foul, get lucky and hit a rushed shot. Smart play.
4. The free throw shooting. Upperclassmen stepped up. Puryear and Geist were clutch. That makes #3 much easier to do.
Lot of other things to talk about, but those are the bigger picture items. Had six players between 7-12 points. Lot of team contributions.
Special shout out to Kevin Puryear. A guy who's been struggling at times, came up with a double double at 12 and 10, an assist and a steal...no turnovers, two fouls. Two HUGE free throws.
This isn't a win that locks up a tournament bid. Lot of work to be done. But it's a win that will look mighty good when that time comes. Likely, based on metrics, the best remaining win (location notwithstanding) on the schedule.
It feels good to be nervous again.
