How Consistency Continues to be a Difference Maker for Missouri Basketball

Losing two in a row is never a good thing, but for the Tigers, their recent skid comes down to one aspect of their play style in particular: being consistent.

Following back-to-back losses against SEC opponents, Missouri Tigers men’s basketball has seemingly lost its groove.

In the last two games alone, the team has tallied the same amount of losses as it had in its previous 15 games, the latest coming against the Florida Gators, who outmatched the Tigers late in the second half to secure a 73-64 win.

Now sitting in the bottom half of the SEC record-wise, the Tigers’ 13-4 record means that they have lost more than just their groove.

They have also lost their AP poll ranking and — because being unranked is not new for the Tigers — the confidence of viewers nationwide.

From a team standpoint, the Tigers can anticipate not having the benefit of the doubt any longer, unless much-needed changes begin to happen, and soon, as SEC play continues on.

But from coach Dennis Gates’ standpoint, those changes involve consistency — and he knows exactly how he intends to help his team get there.

"We had a great game plan [against Florida]," Gates said. "[We] came out in the first half with some unbelievable energy. I thought we saw 20 straight minutes of good basketball, but we had a low shooting percentage. That's back-to-back games [now]."

In those 20 minutes, the visiting Tigers managed to hold a lead for the majority of the half, despite shooting only 33 percent from the floor. The low shooting percentage, however, along with only one made 3 in the half, gave Florida the chance to respond and the halftime score was tied at 28 a piece.

In the second half, the Tigers once again found no rhythm, and by the midway point of the second half, Florida had taken a lead and never gave it back.

“The second half I thought we had wide-open shots," Gates said. "[But] when you have Nick Honor 0-3 from 3, Noah Carter 0-3 from 3, and Sean East II 0-2, I think that would have [given] us some confidence if those guys saw that ball go in."

Consistency on the court, especially in shooting, is something that Gates also stressed following the team’s blowout loss to Texas A&M. In that game, the Tigers brought an 18-point deficit down to only 4 in the first 10 minutes of the second half before the Aggie lead opened back up.

By Gates’ same logic, those 10 minutes were “good basketball”.

The Tigers have shown that they are more than capable shooters — including behind the arc — having made double-digit 3-point shots a total of nine times. The issue arises in making that the case for every game, however, as they only scored three against Florida.

"Our guys are going to shoot the shots that they are normally accustomed to shooting," Gates said. "I thought our guys did execute. They did everything that I asked them to do … but we have to know [better] than what we did tonight.”

Another inconsistency in Missouri’s play style came from a lack of free throws shot by the team against the Gators. Entering the game, the Tigers averaged 18.9 free throws a game, but only managed to attempt 15.

"The game is won or lost on [the free throw line], Gates said. "Ultimately, we're a physical team... we have Kobe Brown. I thought he should have [gone] to the foul line a lot more ... we came away with 15 attempts, [and] they made 15 altogether."

On the night, the team’s best free throw shooter was graduate guard Tre Gomillion, who made four on perfect shooting. Gomillion finished with 11 points — his most since November — and three steals.

On paper, Gomillion’s defense seemingly fit the bill, but given the loss, the guard was still not satisfied.

"On my mind was really just to get the win," Gomillion said. "I know I didn't do that to help us [against A&M], so that was really the main thing on my mind coming into [the game].

"We should have picked up our defense," he added. "When the offense [is not] falling, [we can] rely on that as a source of offense. I didn't do a good job of doing that, so I take the blame."

Gates took to the other side — crediting his player for his hard work on both ends of the floor.

"[Gomillion] was involved in every facet of [the game]," Gates said. "I truly believe he played with a high level of confidence, [and] obviously he didn't think he played well last game, so I think he challenged himself, but also accepted the challenge from his teammates and coaches."

While the on-court challenge of making shots and playing with confidence remains for Gates’ team, it lands on the players to step up to the challenge, but more importantly — to show consistency, especially against conference opponents.

"The road is tough," Gates said. "We [have] to look at and understand what the road presents, [but] I'm not discouraged by my guys. They fought [and] they played well." 

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You can follow Matt Guzman on Twitter @mattgzman

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