Game 15: at Ole Miss

Mizzou went on the road for the first time in conference without their leading scorer, so it was no surprise that they were an underdog going up against a good Ole Miss team.  However, I did not expect them to come out as flat and lifeless as they did.  The team as a whole exhibited lots of poor body language even from early on as numerous players frequently gave up on plays and just didn't seem to give a hoot about doing all the things that a winning basketball team does.  This game also was further confirmation that this team has poor hands and even poorer instincts.  I continue to be amazed at how every catch is an adventure and what should be an easy rebound for a Mizzou player frequently ends up controlled by the opposing team and how a loose ball where there are 4 Mizzou players and 1 opponent always seems to end up with the opponent.  I have mentioned this from the very first game of the season and now that the opposition is getting better and more athletic, this has become even more noticeable.  Ole Miss was more aggressive and even though they were a bit rough around the edges, they fought hard and ultimately made Mizzou look pretty bad.  49 points against Ole Miss!

Phil Pressey
Phil looked like the only decent player for Mizzou tonight.  Everyone else looked pretty poor.  It was so frustrating watch him make nice moves and deliver nice passes only for a cutter to miss an easy shot.  He made over 10 passes that should have resulted in an assist, but ended up with as many turnovers as assists.  4/10.

Jabari Brown
I like Brown a lot and think he is going to be a great player.  He had a rough night tonight and just seemed to play rattled.  He'll bounce back as he is one of the few who is fundamentally sound and has a good understanding of the game.  3/10.

Alex Oriakhi
Oriakhi also seemed to be a little off and never really asserted himself.  Give some credit to Ole Miss, as they were tough inside and had some big guys who could handle the ball and create nice scoring opportunities for themselves.  Unfortunately, Oriakhi struggles against these types of players and tonight was no exception.  3/10.

Earnest Ross
I had hoped I would never have to say this, but it is now apparent that Ross has very poor fundamentals and frequently seems to have no idea what is going on in the game.  In addition, he's an outside shooter who doesn't shoot very well.  His drives to the hoop are horrible.  He is not able to elevate quickly and as a result is very easy to defend, not to mention he has very poor touch around the basket (much like a few other players on this team).  1/10.

Keion Bell
Bell missed a number of gimmies in this one and still looks so awkward on offense.  I also felt like he gave up on a number of plays.  There were numerous times during the game when he just stopped and watched a play while the Ole Miss players continued to hustle.  Bell did have 7 rebounds which was nice to see.  3/10.

Tony Criswell
It was nice to have Criswell back in the line-up though he struggled to defend Holloway.  Criswell's problem is that he does not have lateral quickness and frequently gets in trouble by using his hands and body to defend rather than getting his feet moving. 3/10.

Negus Webster-Chan
Playing with zero confidence and finding new and creative ways to turn the ball over.  It's almost like his sole mission in life is to prove to everyone that Pressey needs to be on the floor for all 40 minutes.  0/10.

Overall Thoughts
I thought Haith mailed this one in.  I understand he was frustrated, but his job is to still coach no matter what.  I felt like the team came out of halftime with little energy and then really showed no desire or fight to get back into it after that.  What was most concerning to me is that this team's defense is so mediocre that it really does not have the ability to come from behind, nor does the team seem to have the mental make-up to fight through some adversity and make the effort to claw back into a game when down.  They all just kind of gave up, much like the Louisville game.  That was disappointing to me.

Next up:  Georgia on Wednesday.