Can we just pretend this game never happened?
Game 24: Mississippi State
It started with defense (like it always should). We got to see a little bit of everything in this game, most of which was positive for Mizzou fans. What I especially liked was how aggressive Missouri was on the boards as they forced Mississippi State to jump shots and then gobbled up the rebound. Even though Mizzou was clearly the better team, they did show some effort that has been sorely lacking in their previous road games. The losses to LSU and A&M would not have happened if Missouri would have started those games with the intensity that we saw tonight. I really think the starting five can play good defense when they set their minds to it. We saw some zone in the second half, but at that point it was hard to tell much as both teams were going through the motions.
Phil Pressey
Decent game. Had a few silly passes, but still had a nice presence and only shot the ball once the whole game. I thought his defense was great as he really caused problems for MSU's offense. 6/10.
Laurence Bowers
Bowers was so-so. I thought he got exposed a couple of times on defense in the second half when a simple pump fake took him completely out of the play. Otherwise, he was solid. 6/10.
Jabari Brown
Brown was great. He absolutely stuffed the stat sheet and just had a wonderful overall game. 20 points, 3 rebounds, 3 assists and 3 steals. He finally had a strong game away from Mizzou Arena. 10/10.
Alex Oriakhi
His 10 rebounds were great and I thought he was fairly dominating inside early on despite not getting into the scoring column. He still has some poor instincts on offense though as Pressey threw him a great lob pass which he caught right under the basket and then inexplicably put on the floor where three smaller MSU players were able to bat it away. All he had to do was go up with the ball as he was right there. 5/10.
Earnest Ross
Ross was okay but had a horrible sequence in the first half where he bricked two 3-pointers then threw the ball to MSU giving them an easy basket the other way for one of their few makes (MSU made only 11 shots all game). 4/10.
Keion Bell
Looking great on both ends. Crazy that he is even knocking down some 3s now. He's finally found his role and is absolutely flourishing. 10/10.
Calling My Shot
As we well know, Arkansas is very tough at home. That combined with Missouri's poor road play this year makes me think this is going to be a difficult game for the Tigers to win. I predict Arkansas to come out hot and Missouri to be lackluster, ultimately losing by 15-20 on Saturday.
Phil Pressey
Decent game. Had a few silly passes, but still had a nice presence and only shot the ball once the whole game. I thought his defense was great as he really caused problems for MSU's offense. 6/10.
Laurence Bowers
Bowers was so-so. I thought he got exposed a couple of times on defense in the second half when a simple pump fake took him completely out of the play. Otherwise, he was solid. 6/10.
Jabari Brown
Brown was great. He absolutely stuffed the stat sheet and just had a wonderful overall game. 20 points, 3 rebounds, 3 assists and 3 steals. He finally had a strong game away from Mizzou Arena. 10/10.
Alex Oriakhi
His 10 rebounds were great and I thought he was fairly dominating inside early on despite not getting into the scoring column. He still has some poor instincts on offense though as Pressey threw him a great lob pass which he caught right under the basket and then inexplicably put on the floor where three smaller MSU players were able to bat it away. All he had to do was go up with the ball as he was right there. 5/10.
Earnest Ross
Ross was okay but had a horrible sequence in the first half where he bricked two 3-pointers then threw the ball to MSU giving them an easy basket the other way for one of their few makes (MSU made only 11 shots all game). 4/10.
Keion Bell
Looking great on both ends. Crazy that he is even knocking down some 3s now. He's finally found his role and is absolutely flourishing. 10/10.
Calling My Shot
As we well know, Arkansas is very tough at home. That combined with Missouri's poor road play this year makes me think this is going to be a difficult game for the Tigers to win. I predict Arkansas to come out hot and Missouri to be lackluster, ultimately losing by 15-20 on Saturday.
Game 23: Ole Miss
Good win. I was worried that the team might come out moping after the heartbreaker the other night. And things started off ominously when Bell fouled Henderson (a/k/a Public Enemy #1) on a 3-pointer to start the game. But the Tigers showed some energy and just completely dominated Ole Miss on the boards, with Alex Oriakhi being the difference-maker on both ends as he ended the game with almost as many rebounds by himself as the whole Ole Miss team. The defense is still ragged (and dropped a few spots nationally to 107 after this game), but I think the starting five CAN play good enough defense. (Bowers looked 100 times better on defense this game than he did against Texas A&M.) However, there is a pretty severe drop-off when Criswell and/or Ross are in the game as those two just are not good defenders.
Phil Pressey
Pressey was okay in this game. He shot way too many times for my taste. He is a streaky player and I felt like he forced some shots at times when it would have been better to work the ball through other players' hands. I do feel that Pressey hasn't been getting many calls though as he gets hit a lot and the refs just don't blow the whistle. Hard to believe he shot and drove as many times as he did in this game and never once got to the free throw line. 22 points is good, but not when it takes 23 shots to get them. 5/10.
Laurence Bowers
If you would have told me that Bowers would finish this game with more technical fouls than field goals, I would have expected Missouri to lose this game. Outside of the techs, he was pretty quiet as he didn't score or get many rebounds. (About that hanging on the rim tech, that was ridiculous. Maybe we are used to watching Thomas Robinson pull himself up on every one of his dunks and then taunt afterwards and never once get called for it, but I have never seen a tech called for what Bowers did and I have watched a lot of basketball.) 4/10.
Jabari Brown
I really thought Brown played a good game. A nice mix of outside shooting and drives to the hoop. He seems to play so much better at home as we have yet to see him play like this away from Mizzou Arena. 7/10.
Alex Oriakhi
9/10. Was the best player on the floor. I docked him a point for losing his cool and starting the fight. He really needs to control his emotions as it has cost the team on a couple of occasions. Outside of that, he single-handedly destroyed Ole Miss.
Earnest Ross
If I had a doghouse and someone was in it, that person would be Earnest Ross. Now Ross actually put up some great numbers in this game (10 points, 7 rebounds, 3 steals), but he continues to make me cringe numerous times every game. Despite less playing time and not handling the ball much, he had almost half of Missouri's total team turnovers. 6/10
Keion Bell
Whatever you are doing, keep doing it. 10/10.
Tony Criswell
Criswell knows his role but is a bit weak on defense. He played his role well. 7/10.
Overall Thoughts
First off, I want to say that I thought Haith did a great job with substitutions in this game. I've been critical of all the minutes he was previously giving Rosburg and NWC and it appears that he now has a nice seven-man rotation which plays the seven best players. In my opinion, there is a fairly significant drop-off after those first seven. I also think this starting line-up is a keeper as it plays the five best defenders and they have shown themselves to play with some nice cohesiveness at times. Secondly, I'm thrilled to see the Tigers knock down free throws at a nice rate for the second game in a row. I hope that this particular trend continues.
I'll be adding a new wrinkle to the Report for these last few games...
Calling My Shot
If you are still reading, you know that I don't pull any punches when critiquing the team that we all love. I actually felt like the Ole Miss game yesterday was going to be a tight one and could go either way in the final moments. I was elated to be wrong with how that turned out. My prediction for Wednesday's game at Mississippi State....Missouri gets their first road win with a comfortable 9-point victory.
Phil Pressey
Pressey was okay in this game. He shot way too many times for my taste. He is a streaky player and I felt like he forced some shots at times when it would have been better to work the ball through other players' hands. I do feel that Pressey hasn't been getting many calls though as he gets hit a lot and the refs just don't blow the whistle. Hard to believe he shot and drove as many times as he did in this game and never once got to the free throw line. 22 points is good, but not when it takes 23 shots to get them. 5/10.
Laurence Bowers
If you would have told me that Bowers would finish this game with more technical fouls than field goals, I would have expected Missouri to lose this game. Outside of the techs, he was pretty quiet as he didn't score or get many rebounds. (About that hanging on the rim tech, that was ridiculous. Maybe we are used to watching Thomas Robinson pull himself up on every one of his dunks and then taunt afterwards and never once get called for it, but I have never seen a tech called for what Bowers did and I have watched a lot of basketball.) 4/10.
Jabari Brown
I really thought Brown played a good game. A nice mix of outside shooting and drives to the hoop. He seems to play so much better at home as we have yet to see him play like this away from Mizzou Arena. 7/10.
Alex Oriakhi
9/10. Was the best player on the floor. I docked him a point for losing his cool and starting the fight. He really needs to control his emotions as it has cost the team on a couple of occasions. Outside of that, he single-handedly destroyed Ole Miss.
Earnest Ross
If I had a doghouse and someone was in it, that person would be Earnest Ross. Now Ross actually put up some great numbers in this game (10 points, 7 rebounds, 3 steals), but he continues to make me cringe numerous times every game. Despite less playing time and not handling the ball much, he had almost half of Missouri's total team turnovers. 6/10
Keion Bell
Whatever you are doing, keep doing it. 10/10.
Tony Criswell
Criswell knows his role but is a bit weak on defense. He played his role well. 7/10.
Overall Thoughts
First off, I want to say that I thought Haith did a great job with substitutions in this game. I've been critical of all the minutes he was previously giving Rosburg and NWC and it appears that he now has a nice seven-man rotation which plays the seven best players. In my opinion, there is a fairly significant drop-off after those first seven. I also think this starting line-up is a keeper as it plays the five best defenders and they have shown themselves to play with some nice cohesiveness at times. Secondly, I'm thrilled to see the Tigers knock down free throws at a nice rate for the second game in a row. I hope that this particular trend continues.
I'll be adding a new wrinkle to the Report for these last few games...
Calling My Shot
If you are still reading, you know that I don't pull any punches when critiquing the team that we all love. I actually felt like the Ole Miss game yesterday was going to be a tight one and could go either way in the final moments. I was elated to be wrong with how that turned out. My prediction for Wednesday's game at Mississippi State....Missouri gets their first road win with a comfortable 9-point victory.
Game 22: Texas A&M
In the first half, Missouri continued to show us how poorly they defend as the normally inept Aggies were getting open lay-ups and jump shots much to their liking. It is fruitless to belabor the point...these Tigers just can't defend. Neither can they grab the ball. It was so frustrating watching Mizzou players bat around the ball while an Aggie would slip in to the play and grab it. What a fitting ending that A&M gets a wide-open look at the game-winning shot after an inexplicable gaffe by Pressey.
After that horrible ending, I'm going to put as much energy into this report as Missouri expends on an opponent's fast break.
Phil Pressey
2/10.
Laurence Bowers
3/10.
Jabari Brown
2/10.
Alex Oriakhi
7/10.
Earnest Ross
2/10.
Keion Bell
5/10.
Tony Criswell
2/10. Worst hands on a bad hands team.
After that horrible ending, I'm going to put as much energy into this report as Missouri expends on an opponent's fast break.
Phil Pressey
2/10.
Laurence Bowers
3/10.
Jabari Brown
2/10.
Alex Oriakhi
7/10.
Earnest Ross
2/10.
Keion Bell
5/10.
Tony Criswell
2/10. Worst hands on a bad hands team.
Next up: Ole Miss on Saturday.
Game 21: Auburn
Officially concerned. Many of you might feel energized by the relatively easy win over Auburn, but I came away from this game feeling much like I did after the LSU disaster, that our Missouri Tigers are a decent team that will make the national tournament but flame out in the first weekend to a team that you would think Missouri could beat. There are three things about this team which, unless corrected, are going to be its downfall: (1) poor defense, (2) lack of hustle and (3) poor fundamentals (or as some of you have correctedly said "low BB IQ"). I actually watched this game twice before making this report. Having these pre-conceived concerns, I am waiting for a game in which Missouri will convince me that these are unfounded concerns. Unfortunately, this game (despite the double-digit win) did nothing of the sort. Auburn is a horrible team offensively (ranked 181), yet they had one of their best scoring games against Missouri. (They have scored more than 77 points 4 other times this season -- against 347th ranked Grambling, 301st ranked Tennessee Tech. Florida State and Illinois.) Missouri's defense is in free-fall mode and is now ranked 98th after this game. (Missouri finished the regular season last year with a defense ranked in the 60s.) Missouri's Pomeroy ranking has now dropped to a season-worst of 49 after being as high as 20 right before the UCLA game.
Phil Pressey
Pressey was great on offense and not-so-great on defense. He had a number of amazing passes and obviously took Haith's comments to heart as he only shot twice the whole game. While I loved his highlight-reel passes, Phil needs to recognize that the same things he can do going against Auburn's 152nd ranked defense will not be possible when going against Florida's top ranked defense. Missouri still has upcoming games against decent defensive teams in Florida, Kentucky and Ole Miss and I hope that Phil adjusts his game accordingly. 7/10.
Laurence Bowers
Bowers was pretty quiet and never really asserted himself. He made his baskets in short little bursts and never did much outside of that. 5/10.
Jabari Brown
Brown had what I thought was his worst game at home this year. However, he's still probably the second or third most important player on this team and does enough good things to help the team. He's especially helpful though when he's able to knock down the outside shots. I was glad that he got back on track from the line as he knocked down all 7 of his free throws. 5/10.
Alex Oriakhi
Oriakhi missed another wide open lay-up early on and was also somewhat quiet in this game finishing with 11 points and 6 rebounds. I figured that he would be a little more dominating at home against an overmatched opponent. 5/10.
Earnest Ross
Ross had his best offensive game for Mizzou and was shooting with a lot of confidence. Can he be consistent enough to continue with this type of performance on the road? I'm still not crazy about his defense, but I guess there's no point in expecting that to get any better as that's the one area of his game that his been consistent. 9/10.
Keion Bell
Bell did what this team needs for him to do...get steals...score in transition and make drives to the basket. I also liked that he had a couple of nice assists on his drives. More of this please. 10/10.
Tony Criswell
Criswell had 4 points and 3 rebounds in 14 minutes of play. While I am a big fan of Tony and love his hustle on the offensive boards, he's not a good defender and gets beat badly on a few occasions every game. He seems to have very poor lateral quickness and also bites on too many fakes and crossovers. He was jumping out on a number of pump fakes against Auburn, which completely took him out of the play on defense which led to some easy points for the other Tigers. 5/10.
Overall Thoughts
When making these reports, I am mindful of the individual game and the meta-game (the season). I am happy that Mizzou was able to defend their home floor and get the victory over Auburn, but as I said above, this game showed many of the same fundamental problems which are going to keep this team from doing much in the post-season. Bell's defensive pressure was nice, but most teams have a number of defenders who can create those types of turnovers from the opposition. It really is alarming at how poorly Mizzou does in this area (I know I sound like a broken record as I harp on this after almost every game but once again Auburn had 12 turnovers when they have been averaging over 20 on the season). Missouri is now ranked 299th in the nation at creating turnovers. As a result, team's routinely have their best offensive showings against Missouri. With such a shoddy defense, all it takes is a less-than-stellar shooting performance and this team can lose to anybody. I had high hopes that the defense would keep us in games despite a huge drop-off in offensive efficiency, but the truth of the matter is that this defense is even worse than last year's. Again, glad to get the win, but have resigned myself for this to end up being a pretty lackluster season.
Phil Pressey
Pressey was great on offense and not-so-great on defense. He had a number of amazing passes and obviously took Haith's comments to heart as he only shot twice the whole game. While I loved his highlight-reel passes, Phil needs to recognize that the same things he can do going against Auburn's 152nd ranked defense will not be possible when going against Florida's top ranked defense. Missouri still has upcoming games against decent defensive teams in Florida, Kentucky and Ole Miss and I hope that Phil adjusts his game accordingly. 7/10.
Laurence Bowers
Bowers was pretty quiet and never really asserted himself. He made his baskets in short little bursts and never did much outside of that. 5/10.
Jabari Brown
Brown had what I thought was his worst game at home this year. However, he's still probably the second or third most important player on this team and does enough good things to help the team. He's especially helpful though when he's able to knock down the outside shots. I was glad that he got back on track from the line as he knocked down all 7 of his free throws. 5/10.
Alex Oriakhi
Oriakhi missed another wide open lay-up early on and was also somewhat quiet in this game finishing with 11 points and 6 rebounds. I figured that he would be a little more dominating at home against an overmatched opponent. 5/10.
Earnest Ross
Ross had his best offensive game for Mizzou and was shooting with a lot of confidence. Can he be consistent enough to continue with this type of performance on the road? I'm still not crazy about his defense, but I guess there's no point in expecting that to get any better as that's the one area of his game that his been consistent. 9/10.
Keion Bell
Bell did what this team needs for him to do...get steals...score in transition and make drives to the basket. I also liked that he had a couple of nice assists on his drives. More of this please. 10/10.
Tony Criswell
Criswell had 4 points and 3 rebounds in 14 minutes of play. While I am a big fan of Tony and love his hustle on the offensive boards, he's not a good defender and gets beat badly on a few occasions every game. He seems to have very poor lateral quickness and also bites on too many fakes and crossovers. He was jumping out on a number of pump fakes against Auburn, which completely took him out of the play on defense which led to some easy points for the other Tigers. 5/10.
Overall Thoughts
When making these reports, I am mindful of the individual game and the meta-game (the season). I am happy that Mizzou was able to defend their home floor and get the victory over Auburn, but as I said above, this game showed many of the same fundamental problems which are going to keep this team from doing much in the post-season. Bell's defensive pressure was nice, but most teams have a number of defenders who can create those types of turnovers from the opposition. It really is alarming at how poorly Mizzou does in this area (I know I sound like a broken record as I harp on this after almost every game but once again Auburn had 12 turnovers when they have been averaging over 20 on the season). Missouri is now ranked 299th in the nation at creating turnovers. As a result, team's routinely have their best offensive showings against Missouri. With such a shoddy defense, all it takes is a less-than-stellar shooting performance and this team can lose to anybody. I had high hopes that the defense would keep us in games despite a huge drop-off in offensive efficiency, but the truth of the matter is that this defense is even worse than last year's. Again, glad to get the win, but have resigned myself for this to end up being a pretty lackluster season.
Next up: Texas A&M on Thursday.
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