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.
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