TIGERS SEEK RARE WIN
After edging Texas Tech, 88-84, Wednesday night and putting to rest fans' worries about NCAA credentials, Missouri tonight has a chance to avenge an 89-91 overtime loss to Texas A&M January 15 in Lubbock.
Michael Dixon, starting for the first time since mid-January, sparked the Tigers in the tournament opener. Coach Mike Anderson's decision to put Phil Pressey on the bench paid off with
Dixon's best overall performance of the year. The Kansas City junior, playing in front of a hometown crowd in the Sprint Center, scored 17 points, going 4 of 9 from the field and 8 for 9 from the free throw line. He added three rebounds and four assists with only two turnovers. More importantly, he played the point under control. Dixon drove, he dished, he hit clutch shots, he played solid defense; and, if the coaching staff was taking notes, he supplanted Pressey at point guard for the duration of the season.
Dixon's play wasn't the only bright spot in Wednesday's game. Justin Safford entered the game at the 15:30 mark of the first half to take over for Laurence Bowers, who picked up two quick fouls. The Tigers' lone senior scored 10 points, including a second half fast break slam on a feed from Dixon. He also pulled down four rebounds and sparked a min-run in the first half with four soft jumpers. Marcus Denmon, another KC prep star, played his usual gritty game, posting 20 points and adding five steals, five assists and three rebounds. Kim English chipped in 15 points and five rebounds.
Missouri has lost seven straight games to the Aggies. Anderson's teams have never beaten them. The motivation tonight won't be revenge. It will be survival. The Tigers seem to have secured a spot in the NCAA tournament and now play for a more favorable seed. Last night's win ended a 3-game losing streak and marked only the second time in the past six years MU won an opening round Big XII game. In 2009 Mizzou ran the table in the conference tourney and went deep into March Madness.
There are still questions about a Tiger team that fell from the AP Top 25 just this week. They have beaten some good teams (Vanderbilt, Illinois, Old Dominion, Kansas State, Colorado) but have had trouble putting other teams away. They won only two true road games. They have been plagued by foul trouble on the front line. Ricardo Ratliffe, named Monday as Big XII Newcomer of the year, is in a late-season slump. Bench play, for the most part, has been spotty. The Tigers don't have a dominant post presence and struggle with interior defense. They are consistently outrebounded, and opponents have learned how to break Mizzou's full-court pressure.
Nevertheless, the Tigers have shown some fire in the loss at home to Kansas and in Wednesday's win in Kansas City. Perhaps this team, like other recent Anderson teams, can catch lightning in a bottle and create some tournament excitement for fans of the Black and Old Gold.
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