Mizzou Tiger Hoops

When we started MizzouTigerHoops last year the initiative and desire to create a great blog was there. The problem is that it wore off pretty quickly. Having been a part of a relatively successful blog this summer, I have the desire to make this blog worthwhile. There isn’t a big market for blogs covering Missouri Tiger basketball, so the aim of this one is to be one of the better, content-filled ones out there.

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.

Selection Sunday is two weeks away, but I thought I’d take a look at the Big 12’s bubble prospects. Oklahoma, kU, and Mizzou are clearly locks, and I think putting Texas in is a pretty safe bet too, but just for fun I’ll keep them on the bubble. 

Texas - 19-9 (8-6), RPI: 38, SOS: 32

Currently ranked #25, their win over #3 OU should be the giant cherry atop non-conference wins against Villanova and UCLA. However, they really need to split their remaining games against Baylor and kU because a .500 record in a down conference is not a comfortable place to be when Greg Gumbel is reading out the bracket.

Baylor is clearly the disappoint of the Big 12 this year, but Texas may not be far off. They were supposed to be an elite team and have not at all lived up to those expectations. Their point guard play has been really inconsistent this season and in my opinion, been their achilles heel. None of A.J. Abrams, Justin Mason, or Dogus Balbay have been able to consistently produce the way point guards on some of Rick Barnes’ great teams have (D.J. Augustin, T.J. Ford). 

 Kansas State - 20-9 (8-6), RPI: 73, SOS: 88

This does not look like a team that is going to get in to me. They have one good win (Mizzou at home) and two REALLY REALLY bad non-conference losses (vs. Iowa, @ Oregon). To even have a chance they will need to win their remaining games (@Ok-State, Col.) and then win at least two games in the conference tournament. One of those wins will pretty much have to come against Mizzou, OU, or kU as well. 

Frank Martin has done a great job (even though he is pretty scary with his constant screaming) to get this team where they are in conference play considering how much they’ve lost since last season. However, there are too many losses, not enough eye-catching wins, and a poor RPI and SOS. For example, some teams with a better RPI include: Rhode Island, Wisconsin Green-Bay, Baylor, and New Mexico. 

 Oklahoma State - 19-9 (8-6), RPI: 30, SOS: 12

Oklahoma State is a really intriguing team. Out of those nine losses, not one is really all that bad. Their worst loss is probably an early-season shootout at Baylor. They should get to 20 wins with their next game against K-State. Though they lack a real signature win (take your pick out of Siena/Rhode Island/Texas), they haven’t done anything to ruin their shot at the tournament. Their RPI and SOS are hard to ignore. 

 Texas A&M - 21-8 (7-7), RPI: 35, SOS: 37

The Aggies are a lot like the Cowboys in that they are a team flying under the proverbial radar that has quietly put together a very solid resume that lacks flash. Their SOS, RPI, and win total are all pretty safe. So is a non-conference win against SEC-champion LSU, which looks better and better every week. With Colorado still on their schedule, and an easier opponent in the first round of the Big 12 tournament, getting to 23 wins should be a given. They only thing that can be held against them is their .500 record in a down Big 12.

 Nebraska - 16-11 (6-8), RPI: 74, SOS: 42 

Putting them on this list is very generous. Their record isn’t good and neither are their numbers. However they have two winnable games left against ISU and Baylor and solid non-conference win against Creighton. Maybe a run to the Big 12 title game will make them sweat in anticipation on Selection Sunday? I doubt it. 

So there you have the resumes, here are my opinions. 

Texas: In, but that doesn’t make them any less of a disappoint this year. 

K-State: Out, it is pretty simple, the numbers and wins just aren’t there. 

Ok-State: In, it is hard to ignore their stats.

Texas A&M: In, for same reason as above.

Nebraska: Out, they made it interesting for awhile, but it just isn’t there.

Mizzou Tiger Hoops pretty much died down after a scorching start. I apologize for this. However, as odd as it may be after all the triumphs of the past month, today’s debacle (that’s a generous term) in Lawrence has inspired to start blogging about the Tigers again. 

Where to start… I don’t want to go too much into the game because frankly it pretty much explains itself. Mizzou shot 35% this afternoon while kU connected on better than 55% of their shots. I thought that the tone for the game was pretty much set on two different occasions early in the first half.

The first ominous event: J.T. Tiller’s steal, break-away, and missed lay-up with the Tigers trailing 7-5. The “Jayhawks” then went down and got another awkward, non-jumping dunk from Cole Aldrich (who looks more and more like a Soviet Bloc extra from a Bond film every time I see him) to go up 9-5. Only a four point swing, but it really fed the beast that was their crowd, and this was bad as early as it was. You also don’t want to give up easy opportunities when you absolutely, positively have to get off to a quality start. 

Yeah...that about sums it up.

The second ominous event: At just under the 14 minute mark, Matt Lawrence fouled Mario Little, sending him to the stripe with the Tigers trailing 13-5. Little made the first, missed the second, GOT HIS OWN REBOUND, and kicked it out for a Sherron Collins three. Allowing a four point possession, awful rebounding, and finding yourself down by 12 in a flash are not things that are conducive for a Tigers win against a very good oppenent like the “Jayhawks.” The team was struggling to find any kind of offensive flow at this point, and with the deficit extended so rapidly, it was harder for them because they started to press even more. 

As much as this one stings, when you take away the heart-strings and rivalry undertones, nothing really has changed. Yes, the Tigers need to virtually climb Mt. Everest now to win the Big 12 regular-season title, but let’s be realistic, if you honestly thought Mizzou SHOULD have won the conference title you are kidding yourself. 

Asking a young team to win in Lawrence with the “Jayhawks” coming off their biggest win of the year last Monday over OU is asking too much. Then expecting them to turn around and beat a full-strength OU team that has been among the finest in the nation is a little too much as well. Even if they had done all that incredible stuff they would still have had most likely a must-win game on the road against a decent team in Texas A&M that would be adamant on improving its seed in the conference tournament.

It just wasn’t realistic. Instead of being disappointed in what this team didn’t do on Sunday, Tiger fans should take a tough step back from the emotion and realize how great this season has been already. Many “experts” picked them to finish 7th in the conference. Mizzou will finish 3rd, maybe even 2nd. This in itself means a successful season to me. 

All I ask for in this final week is for the team to come out and compete with OU, and maybe steal a game in the latter portion of the second half on Wednesday. Winning in College Station I would say is a big deal right now to create some momentum and confidence going into the conference tournament. 

-Greg M.