bierce

Shedrick once again is getting a few rebounds but providing nothing else. He can't drive. He can't pass. He can't shoot outside of a few feet. His profile at Virginia was as a rebounder/shot blocker. He is that profile. I had always hoped for more from him after that first few games he had last year, but we just haven't seen it.

Larry has had a pretty good game so far. A couple of nice assists. 3/4 from the line. Taking it to the rim instead of doing nothing with the dribble. He should have gotten another foul call, but he refs swallowed the whistle on the play. I have little problem with Larry's play today. He was worse than terrible Saturday, but whatever Terry told him after that game seems to have resonated. At least it has so far. Let's hope he keeps it up. He's not Hawkins, but did we expect him to be?

Nice oop to cap our scoring. I'll take a 14 point win.

Boom! What a series. Kaluma three. Kaluma switching with Kent and stoning the big guy inside and getting the board. Tre hitting the three.

Larry didn't get the foul call, but I'm still glad to see him go all the way to the rim.

Johnson finally draws a foul.

Shedrick and Onyema both on the bench with 2 fouls for the last 6 minutes. Kent has to show on the boards.

Pretty drive and pull up by Pope.

Pope hit the three while Johnson is wondering how much punishment he has to absorb before a foul is called.

Second time a Missouri player has collected a rebound while lying on the floor.

Kent trying a bounce pass from the perimeter through a defender's body. UNDUDE!

Kent with the steal, drive the length, and pull up jumper. DUDE!

Johnson creamed twice in one play. no calls.

Alley oop to a guarded man from 28 feet out rarely works.

Kaluma looking for Manute Bol with that pass.

Pryor in early.

But at least he tried to get in the paint.

Bad to see Larry try to drive into the paint and lose the dribble.

Must have heard about the thing that happened 2 years ago in Ames.

Good to see Larry take it all the way to the rim.

Ah, they finally put it up on SEC+

We'll miss the first how many minutes of this game due to Vandy-Alabama going long? 3? 5?

I mentioned on the other thread about Missouri's offense being superior to its defense. Robinson draws a lot of contact as a PG, shooting almost as many fta as pga. That'll put pressure on our defense. Missouri also shoots very well from everywhere on the court and gets to the line a lot as a team, averaging 25 fta per game in conference. If we are short handed, we may run into foul trouble or wind up having to give away baskets. On defense, Missouri forces a lot of turnovers, so we need to watch those after 15 and 14 the last two games. Gates's team went 0-18 in conference last year, and 3 starters and the sixth man this year were big parts of that winless team. Now Missouri is 4-1 in conference with its only non-con losses being in a one possession game to Illinois and in a game it let get away from it in the second half in Memphis in the season opener, and it has three easy home wins over LSU, Vandy, and Arky, the last being by 19 points. I suspect Missouri admins are very happy they didn't jettison Gates after he went winless in conference last season. Of course, it would have been a big buyout to swallow since Missouri extended him after the 2022-2023 season. I always thought he was a good coach despite the disaster of 2023-24.

I saw the quit on defense over the last 8 minutes against Florida, but I don't think it has been much of a problem throughout the year. We saw some good ball movement and passing against OU, Tennessee, and early against Florida. We still needed Tre to hit a bunch of turnaround shots, which he is very adept at when he is otherwise not moving laterally, but three times Onyema was fed in the paint and kicked out to a shooter. Good stuff. Would be the sort of thing to build an offense around if Onyema was a guy you could expect to hit a 8-10 shot if the defense gives it up. But all we can really expect from Onyema is a pass out or taking it to the rim for a basket or a foul. I don't mind him doing the latter, but how much better he would be with a short range shot. Alas. Meanwhile, Shedrick has only 1 assist to 6 turnovers in conference play, and he has never been a good passer out of the post. We'll see tonight if we have just 1 on 5 stuff or if there is more of an effort to help each other out. Sometimes the 1 on 5 stuff isn't quite so 1 on 5 as it might seem. I remember Johnson at times waving Mark to take his man to the basket with the ball to score and at time waving Mark to go through the lane without the ball to get defenders moving to clear the lane for Johnson to drive. There's some teamwork there, even if it didn't include passing for an assist. But I'm less worried about Missouri's defense than I am about their offense tonight, even if Missouri forces a ton of turnovers. Missouri shoots very well from everywhere on the floor and gets to the line a ton. When the PG takes almost as many fta as fga, that's a PG that puts a lot of pressure on a defense. Tough game tonight. If we get a win, then it will be a win had to earn. BTW, Gates deserves huge credit for what he has done with this team. It has three starters and a sixth man who were on last year's team that went winless in conference. It lost the season opener in a second half collapse against Memphis, a down to the wire game against Illinois, and a blowout @ Auburn in conference opener, but it is 4-1 in conference with a win @ Florida and three easy home wins, including an 18 smack down of Arkansas. Currently NET 23. I think the Tigers are happy they didn't immediately pull the plug on Gates.

And I suspect the death threats directed at his family get pretty old. But NFL coaches aren't immune from those. Just ask Dan Campbell.