Three takeaways from Missouri's SEC-opener loss to Georgia
Missouri basketball faced the Georgia Bulldogs in Hearnes Center on Saturday. The Tigers would fall in a closely contested game that was full of big runs from both teams. Not all losses are created equal, and that's evident by the Tigers recent 3-of-4 game skid. So what can we take away from the Tiger's loss to open SEC play?
Lack of Identity Creates Offensive Struggles
Last year, Missouri created great success by finding identity in the 3-point shot. Star players took over and made plays when needed, aided by role players who could hit big shots when necessary. All of that has been absent from the team this year.
The Tigers lack of identity comes from the absence of players finding their role and buying into that role. This game showed the problems as clear as any has before. In the final possessions of the game, the lack of three-point shooting instead traded in for contested layups is not something that would have happened with last year's team and players. There is no doubt that this roster is immensely talented, but the desire for everyone to take the final shot creates for bad clutch offense. The team has yet to show that they have a go-to guy in those final moments that they can trust to go bring the game home and it showed very clearly here.
It doesn't help the Tiger's offensive identity that the formations don't seem to be set, even by the beginning of conference play. Through the cold stretch that Mizzou has faced recently, there has been little consistency with players minutes. One big example of this is Aidan Shaw who saw a much lengthier time on the floor today than any of the previous three games he's appeared in. This could simply be due to Gates riding the hot hand, but the amount of discrepancy does not help with a team that can't find themselves to start with.
Missouri has failed to replicate the success from behind-the-arc that took them on a March Madness run just last year. A system that Gates seemed eager to apply to this years team and shrugged off concerns about during early struggles. Unfortunately, the Tigers are now sitting around 150th in the nation for 3-point percentage. The struggles continued today as the Tigers shot just above 30 percent from three in todays contest.
Until Missouri can find their guy and create an identity, they will continue to find challenges closing out games when it matters most.
That Being Said... Man Are They Fun
Taking every ounce of criticism that I gave Missouri in the last takeaway and push it out the window for this one.
Missouri may not be a team that is going to compete for a national title this year, but it is a roster filled with immense talent and a coach who knows what he's doing. They create a game-day atmosphere for fans that may not show up on paper, but instead in roars of applause as Tamar Bates or Aidan Shaw slams down a put-back dunk to flip momentum. Something that was on full display, despite their late loss.
Aidan Shaw was on the forefront of this exciting attack, creating 10 of his 14 points off dunks alone. One coming off a high-flying rebound and put-back that sent the fans into a frenzy. Nick Honor also took his turn at amazing the crowd, pulling up from way downtown as the shot clock expired to give Missouri three points.
With stars on top of stars flooding into the basketball program with the excellent recruiting done by Gates and his staff, this might look to be a transitional year for Mizzou. Regardless of the results, the ability for the team to keep the fans behind them even in losses will pay dividends as they progress this season and into next season.
Down But Not Out
Through Missouri's offensive struggles they have found themselves in deficits often, though have shown a very impressive ability to stay poised through pressure even when down in games. Missouri has even managed to pull big wins out of games such as their contest against Minnesota, where they would pull back from a 20-point second half deficit.
Missouri would not change their ways in this game, going down 17-points early into the first half. Georgia began the game shooting 8-for-11 from three and they put the Tigers into a hole early. Missouri could have went into the locker room down 20+ points, but instead have shown a resilience that they have shown all year.
Missouri would close out the half on a 17-2 run, only going into the locker room down by 2 points. The scoring run would switch momentum heading into the locker rooms and kept the crowd not only in the game, but at the game. Of course the Tigers wouldn't be able to pull out the win in this game, but their ability to stay poised in the toughest situations is what creates Cinderella stories come March.
