Mizzou Tiger Hoops

With Mizzou not having even played a minute in the Big 12 tournament, things are looking rosy. 

I would say the two teams I was most afraid of coming into the tournament were Kansas and Texas A&M. With A&M it is pretty clear: we are fresh off losing to them. I just didn’t like the way Donald Sloan, B.J. Holmes and the rest of their guards handled the pressure defense. They seemed to be one of the better teams all year in getting the ball quickly down the court and leading to open three’s and easy lay-ups. I guess what I am getting at is that they played pretty efficiently while being forced into a fast-paced game.

Kansas I just didn’t want to play because out of all the teams we have lost to all year, they had the easiest time getting the under-the-defense buckets that can be a side-effect of the press. I just have nightmares of Alrich catching a long pass, ducking under the rim and throwing it down. 

Hey Singletary, you won't get 43 against this man.

The cards really have fallen in the Tigers favor so far. Here is why:

• Mike Anderson is winless in conference tournament games so far (0-2), so saying that Texas Tech will be an easy win would be wrong. However, Tech is clearly less talented than A&M, especially in the front court. DeMarre and more so Leo should have a field day tonight in OKC against undersized and under-skilled big men. Also, Tech is coming off a game in which they had to play hard for 40 minutes, so their legs shouldn’t all be there.
• If, and a hypothetical if at that, Mizzou can deal with Tech, they would play either OU or OK-State. I am not quite sure who I think will win this game (something tells me OK-State will), but either way I think it is an opponent that would be acceptable to lose to. No team has more on the line in this tournament then OU does with their #1 seed hanging in the balance. If it were OK-State, it would more or less be a home game for them and they have been really hot lately. It also doesn’t hurt that Mizzou has beaten both of these teams already this year. 
• If, and a hypothetical if at that again, Mizzou is to somehow get to the championship, each team they could conceivably play is very beatable among Texas, K-State, and Baylor. Let’s hope they can get to that point

A final thought, something tells me that Kimmie English is going to have a big game tonight. I don’t know why, but maybe he will envision himself playing against Iowa State and hitting a bunch of three’s. Go Tigers.