I spent the morning watching Princeton's game against Iona. It was a game they played back on Dec. 13, so some things might've been adjusted since then. But Iona is a tournament team and they press like Mizzou, so I figured it would give a relatively good feel for how the Tigers match up. I also read The Athletic's article on how they pulled off the upset over Arizona (I only really saw the last 4 minutes of the game).
They lost the game to the Gaels, 70-64, but led by as much as 8 in the second half and were tied with Iona with a minute left in the game. Some notes:
-Princeton handled Iona's press fairly well. They are right at the national average in terms of tempo -- they're comfortable playing fast or slow depending on what the game calls for. Against Arizona, it called for a slower tempo. The Wildcats averaged 72.1 possessions per game this year. They had just 67 against Princeton.
-Offensively, Princeton isn't as reliant on 3s as Utah State, but still want to hunt for open looks along the perimeter. They have plenty of *willing* shooters, but most guys are not all that efficient -- six of their guys are shooting at least one triple per game, but only two of them (junior guard Matt Alloco and sophomore guard Blake Peters) are making them at or above the national average rate of 34%.
-Unlike USU, I do think Princeton has a true difference-making, go-to guy in senior forward Tosan Evbuomwan (I believe his last name is pronounced something like "uwoma"). He's 6-foot-8, 220, and is more or less the team's starting point guard. He's not much of a shooter, taking just 30 shots from deep and making 9, but is skilled enough to bring the ball up and drive past his man to the rim. His height helps him see over the top of the defense and find the open man, he's averaging 4.8 assists per game. He was the team's only player in double-digits against Arizona, posting 15 points, 7 rebounds, 4 assists, a steal and a block.
-They also have a true center to keep Evbuomwan from getting knocked around in 6-foot-9, 240-pound senior Keeshawn Kellman. They'll get the ball to him on the block or when he cuts in from the dunker's spot and he's got good touch around the rim, hitting 60% of his 2s. He also runs the floor pretty well for a guy that size.
-Defensively, as it was pointed out in The Athletic article, Princeton is pretty solid in transition. Kellman on their game plan against the Wildcats: "The first big to get back stops the quick duck-in, and the second is there for help. Build a line around the rim. Hold it."
-I'm not sure how much zone Princeton runs - they went 1-3-1 for a little while against Iona but it was mostly man. They had their bigs mostly go drop coverage in the pick and roll, hanging back in the paint and daring the ball-handler to pull-up off the dribble. Iona ended up making a bunch of mid-rangers to rally back late. Most teams end up jacking a ton of 3s, but it takes a lot of ball movement to spring an open look. A reminder: Princeton beat Arizona because of its defense. Princeton shot 4-25 from outside and 3-5 at the free throw line, but held Arizona scoreless in the final four minutes to mount the comeback.
-This is another game that's going to come down to making shots for Mizzou. As Kyle Smithpeters told me on Wednesday, the team isn't going to change what it does this late in the season -- it'll make a few tweaks at the most. We'll try to find out more about how they're approaching this game during the media session today.
They lost the game to the Gaels, 70-64, but led by as much as 8 in the second half and were tied with Iona with a minute left in the game. Some notes:
-Princeton handled Iona's press fairly well. They are right at the national average in terms of tempo -- they're comfortable playing fast or slow depending on what the game calls for. Against Arizona, it called for a slower tempo. The Wildcats averaged 72.1 possessions per game this year. They had just 67 against Princeton.
-Offensively, Princeton isn't as reliant on 3s as Utah State, but still want to hunt for open looks along the perimeter. They have plenty of *willing* shooters, but most guys are not all that efficient -- six of their guys are shooting at least one triple per game, but only two of them (junior guard Matt Alloco and sophomore guard Blake Peters) are making them at or above the national average rate of 34%.
-Unlike USU, I do think Princeton has a true difference-making, go-to guy in senior forward Tosan Evbuomwan (I believe his last name is pronounced something like "uwoma"). He's 6-foot-8, 220, and is more or less the team's starting point guard. He's not much of a shooter, taking just 30 shots from deep and making 9, but is skilled enough to bring the ball up and drive past his man to the rim. His height helps him see over the top of the defense and find the open man, he's averaging 4.8 assists per game. He was the team's only player in double-digits against Arizona, posting 15 points, 7 rebounds, 4 assists, a steal and a block.
-They also have a true center to keep Evbuomwan from getting knocked around in 6-foot-9, 240-pound senior Keeshawn Kellman. They'll get the ball to him on the block or when he cuts in from the dunker's spot and he's got good touch around the rim, hitting 60% of his 2s. He also runs the floor pretty well for a guy that size.
-Defensively, as it was pointed out in The Athletic article, Princeton is pretty solid in transition. Kellman on their game plan against the Wildcats: "The first big to get back stops the quick duck-in, and the second is there for help. Build a line around the rim. Hold it."
-I'm not sure how much zone Princeton runs - they went 1-3-1 for a little while against Iona but it was mostly man. They had their bigs mostly go drop coverage in the pick and roll, hanging back in the paint and daring the ball-handler to pull-up off the dribble. Iona ended up making a bunch of mid-rangers to rally back late. Most teams end up jacking a ton of 3s, but it takes a lot of ball movement to spring an open look. A reminder: Princeton beat Arizona because of its defense. Princeton shot 4-25 from outside and 3-5 at the free throw line, but held Arizona scoreless in the final four minutes to mount the comeback.
-This is another game that's going to come down to making shots for Mizzou. As Kyle Smithpeters told me on Wednesday, the team isn't going to change what it does this late in the season -- it'll make a few tweaks at the most. We'll try to find out more about how they're approaching this game during the media session today.
