Missouri's month-long shooting slump ended with a bang yesterday at Mizzou Arena in a 95-80 win over Oklahoma State.
The Tigers hit 17 of 31 3-point shots to post their 32nd straight home win against the last team to win in Columbia. They were 17 of 34 from inside the arc, combining to shoot 52.3% for the game, far and away their best statistical game since conference play began. Add to those numbers 21 assists on the 34 makes, 24 forced turnovers including 11 steals, and 10 points on fast breaks (after just 14 points on fast break opportunities in the first five conference games).
With five minutes gone in the second half, the Cowboys, behind James Anderson's torrid 15-point 1-man run, closed to 52-51 before the Tigers answered with six 3's in a 27-9 burst over the next seven minutes. Coach Mike Anderson and his Tiger teammates credited little-used Steve Moore with the spark that ignited the offensive explosion. Moore snatched an offensive board, and two passes later Zaire Taylor canned a three to start the run that put the 'Pokes away. Travis Ford, the 2nd-year OSU coach who played one year for Mizzou before bolting for home-cooking at Kentucky and to play for Rick Pitino, said it was just the Tigers' day.
MU was outrebounded 40-29 and hit only 10 of 20 free throws, two stats that mattered little in Saturday's game but that could come back to haunt the Bengals down the road.
While this game boosts Mizzou (16-5, 4-2) into second place in the Big 12, it could hurt the Tigers in the long haul. There is an old adage in basketball: live and die with the jump shot. Or, in the case of the Tigers: with the 3-pointer. The halfcourt offense did look better Saturday; and many of the 3-point looks came off penetration and inside touches. The shooters were squared up and on target; but just firing away from outside (like the striped Cats did against Kansas) isn't going to get it done in the down the stretch.
Mizzou has three winnable games in the next 10 days: Texas A&M (15-6, 4-3) at home Wednesday night; Colorado (11-10, 2-5) in Boulder next Saturday; and Iowa State (13-8, 2-4) back home on Feb 10. Mark Turgeon's Aggies flirted with the Top 25 prior to conference play. Their only loss to an unranked team was to OSU on the road. The Buffaloes are always tough in Boulder; and they have shown some scrappiness all season. They beat Baylor and Nebraska in the mountains and lost by just six, four and one on the road to K-State, A & M and Iowa State on the road. The Cyclones gave Texas all they wanted at Ames and kept the KU game there close until late in the second half.
If the Tigers can put these three games in the win column, it will set them up for a chance at a good finish in conference play. The final seven league games are fraught with danger: Baylor, Nebraska, K-State and Iowa State on the road are all traps; Texas, despite its current slump, will be tough here; and, of course, the Tigers close out the regular season with a rematch against KU.
Looking ahead, with just a month of conference play in the books, MU conceivably could finish 10-6, two games better than my pre-conference prediction.
No comments:
Post a Comment