Who Are The Missouri Tigers

Frank Haith has a talented group of young men on his roster, led by stand-out junior point guard Phil Pressey, and senior forwards Laurence Bowers and Alex Oriakhi. The supporting cast includes senior guard Keion Bell, junior guard Earnest Ross, and sophomore guard Jabari Brown. All of them are averaging double figures in scoring, and Mizzou is first in all of college basketball in rebounding. Suffice to say when the team is playing well they’re difficult to beat. It’s also safe to say, Coach Haith himself would probably have a difficult time describing his team’s identity, as we grind down to March Madness. So who are the Missouri Tigers?

After upsetting the Florida Gators 63-60 last Tuesday at home, the schedule took the Tigers away from their comfort zone, for a date with Kentucky. It was a big time Saturday night affair, in the national spotlight, at Rupp Arena. Clearly the Tigers, (19-8, 8-6) are hoping to avoid the embarrassment of settling for an NIT bid. With Dick Vitale in the house, and all the hype his mere presence brings to any raucous college atmosphere, embarrassing is just one word that accurately describes Mizzou’s play against the Wildcats. Disappointing is another. Erratic also comes to mind. Ironically, the same adjectives can describe Phil Pressey’s play at times too.

The Tigers jumped in front of Kentucky early, and would lead by as many as 13 points in the first half. Rupp Arena was subdued but you could feel them just itching to explode. Mizzou looked like they could control the flow of the game, taking advantage of their quickness and their size inside. They took it right to the Wildcats in the early going. Pressey was able to penetrate with relative ease, and find his big men down low for several easy buckets. The Tigers would begin to pull away. Maybe they learned something about themselves in the Florida game. They appeared to be well on their way to a much needed conference road win

Unfortunately, or maybe inevitably, the momentum would swing in Kentucky’s favor. As time ran down, they started to close the gap, getting their fans back involved, while the wheels began to fall off for the Tigers. Kentucky cut the lead to 9, then 6, then 4 points, with 3 minutes to play in the half. The Wildcats smelled blood, and as we’ve seen so many times this season on the road from Mizzou, players started getting rattled, and making critical mistakes including poor shot selection and turnovers.

Then came the moment Rupp Arena was waiting for, a Missouri mental lapse. Phil Pressey hit a long 3 pointer with roughly 6 seconds on the clock, extending the Mizzou lead to 6. The Tigers decided the half was over at that point. Did I mention the 6 seconds on the clock? Pressey admired his shot, and back peddled casually down the floor, completely unaware of the man drifting behind him. Dick Vitale immediately pointed out that there was “nobody back.” The Wildcats in-bounded the ball, and raced up the floor, while the Tiger players loafed. Yes Mizzou fans, you’ve seen this one before. Does the name Tyus Edney ring any bells?

They allowed a Kentucky player to slip away all by himself. The end result was a long pass to the wide open Willie Cauley-Stein for a monster dunk, as time expired. Kentucky would trot off the floor energized, exalting with a packed house of screaming fans. They trailed 35-31, but delivered a clear message that they came to play for the entire 40 minutes. The Tigers apparently did not. Mizzou lost the game right then and there. Never mind the remaining 20 minutes of regulation time, or the 5 additional overtime minutes, Mizzou gave this game away right before half time.

The Wildcats finished the first half on a 16-7 run. They would then score the first 5 points in the second half, to go ahead 36-35. The game would see-saw the rest of the way, with neither team able to gain any separation, but the Wildcats played with much more confidence, while Mizzou seemed to be frantic at times, Pressey in particular. Kentucky’s Archie Goodwin was held scoreless in the first half, but went off in the second half and overtime, dropping in 18. The Cats were led by Julius Mays with 24 points and Alex Poythress with 21.

The Tigers were led by Pressey’s 27 points and 10 assists. On the surface, those are impressive numbers, worthy of the praise that Vitale would heap upon him throughout the game. However, Pressey also had 4 turnovers, and he missed several out of control running lay ups, as he continuously tried to drive to the basket and score in the land of the giants. He had several of those shots blocked, including one very late in the second half, when it looked like he had a man wide open waiting for a dish.

Pressey sometimes gets away from his many strengths, and tries to do too much. Those blocked shots don’t go down as turnovers, but any time you block a shot on your home floor, it ignites the crowd, and energizes your team. Kentucky would feed off that energy the rest of the way. They went on to win the game in overtime, outscoring Mizzou 15-8 in the extra frame, finally cutting Mizzou down, 90-83. Again, the game was lost long before it went into overtime. It was the same old story on the road for Mizzou, another heart breaking loss. They just can’t close the deal away from Columbia Mo.

This game may have been their last and best opportunity to really impress the selection committee down the stretch. They needed a big time road win, but more importantly the Tigers simply needed a road win. Mizzou could have greatly benefited from a nice 6 game run to close the season, picking up some quality wins when people are paying close attention.

Had they won at Kentucky, the Tigers had an opportunity to improve their conference road record to a more respectable 4-6, with additional road wins to be had at South Carolina, and in their final game at Tennessee. Toss in a couple of “pay-back” wins over LSU & Arkansas at home, which would make them a perfect 17-0 on their own floor, and all of a sudden the Tigers are a solid 6, 7, or 8 seed in the Big Dance. Mizzou shot itself in the foot against a Kentucky team that proved themselves beatable, if not resilient in the win over the Tigers.

Mizzou may still be an at large consideration, but that 1-7 conference road record with two more to play, hangs over their heads like a dark cloud. A split of their final four games at this point, would give them a 21-10 record. Can anyone say bubble? When the committee starts looking at RPI, BPI, and all the other checks & balances that go into granting at large bids, Mizzou may very well find themselves out of the big picture. Their bubble is leaking to say the least. Kentucky was considered to be on the outside looking in before this game. Now it appears they have greatly improved their stock to crack the field of 68.

Should Mizzou do the improbable, and end the year with a little 4 game win streak, they would finish 23-8. They would get into the NCAA tournament in spite of themselves. The next question becomes, where would they have to play? The committee would very likely send them somewhere far from home, like Utah, or Washington, making it at the very least, inconvenient for fans to travel and support the team.

Anything can happen during March Madness, but considering the hot and cold play of Mizzou it’s not unfair to believe they would be an early out. Thanks for coming folks. Enjoy your trip back to Columbia. If Mizzou happens to be left out of the NCAA tourney, don’t consider it a “snub.” They haven’t exactly shown the kind of consistency it takes to win it all to this point.

Mizzou has the talent to play with anyone in the country. Ability to win under pressure is what teams must have, if they hope to win the final game of the year. Mizzou does not have that right now. Hopefully, they can get hot at the right time, and go on one of those storybook runs we hear about so often. It will take grit and determination, and a ton of unselfish play from Phil Pressey, for Mizzou to cut down the nets at any point in the tourney. The time is now for Mizzou. They’re still floating on a bubble, and cannot afford any more losses, or we will see them in the NIT.

Rodney N Eldridge

The Sportz Yak