COLUMBIA Kim English heard the question and responded quickly, with a solemn glare on his face and certain sternness in his voice.Did he see any similarities between Missouri’s 78-68 loss to Kansas State on Tuesday and the Tigers’ 16-point loss to the Wildcats in early January?“The outcome,” English said, flatly.English was correct, obviously. But in the aftermath of Tuesday’s unexpected loss to the unranked Wildcats — the third-ranked Tigers’ first this season at Mizzou Arena — it became incredibly clear that there were more similarities than that, with the most significant one being Missouri’s inability to match Kansas State’s physicality.“Their length does bother us,” Haith said, “and the way the play the game (does, too).” Haith admitted to this similarity with one stipulation: There’s no doubt the Tigers competed harder this time, though they still struggled to deal with the Wildcats’ willingness to body them up.“When you’re coming across the lane, there’s chesting, there’s bumping, there’s a lot of stuff going on off the ball,” Haith said. “When the games are played like that … we haven’t played well. They were just physical, very physical off the ball.”The fact that Missouri actually made a game of it in the second half, cutting a 16-point deficit to three at one point, supports Haith’s assessment of his team’s desire to win. So does the fact that Missouri, which was obviously eager to avenge its 75-59 loss on Jan. 7, started out strong and led 16-11 roughly 7 minutes in.But that’s when the tide slowly began to turn, as Kansas State started grinding out possessions and closed the half with a 29-14 run. “We didn’t punch back early,” English said. “And when you do that and you play good teams, it’s an uphill battle all the way.”That happened for several reasons, the most noticeable being Kansas State’s strong defense. Led by 6-foot-11 junior forward Jordan Henriquez and 6-8 senior forward Jamar Samuels, who combined for five blocks by halftime, Kansas State clogged the lane and contested shots, forcing Missouri to shoot 10 of 29 (34.5 percent). Meanwhile, Kansas State routinely outmuscled Missouri to get to the spots on the court it wanted on offense. Even when the Tigers did defend well, the Wildcats often found a way to score, finishing 14 of 28 (50 percent) from the field.“They made some shots early that — when you play good defense — you don’t expect them to make,” said MU senior Marcus Denmon, who finished with 19 points.Foul trouble also hurt Missouri. Both teams were called for nine fouls in the half, but things were so bad for the Tigers that by halftime — senior guard Kim English had three fouls and senior forward Steve Moore had two fouls — that Haith subbed in little-used senior forward Andrew Jones to eat up some minutes before the break. Despite all that, Missouri mounted a comeback in the second half. Kansas State stretched its lead to 61-45, when the Tigers got on a 15-2 run that cut the deficit to three with 6 minutes, 33 seconds left.The sellout crowd of 15,061 at Mizzou Arena was rocking, but McGruder answered with a clutch three. After two free throws by Missouri junior Michael Dixon, who finished with a team-high 21 points, McGruder added two more free throws during a stretch that quieted the crowd and swung the momentum back Kansas State’s way.Not coincidentally, Missouri suddenly went cold from the field soon after. The Tigers, who missed nine three-pointers during the last 5 minutes, could muster only four points the rest of the way, which all but sealed their fate.“We were trying to get a five-point shot, instead of continuing to play and being aggressive and attacking,” said Haith, whose team finished shooting 38.3 percent from the field. “I thought we settled.”In contrast, Haith said Kansas State, which shot 53.8 percent, didn’t do much settling on offense. McGruder led the way with 24 points, and freshman big man Thomas Gipson had 13 crucial points on six-of-seven shooting.“The one thing I will tell you is that when people get up on close to the basket, we’ve got to be able to have a little more resistance,” Haith said. “Gipson get the ball close to the paint, we turn, and we just let him lay it up. That’s got to change.”The good news is that according to Denmon, the Tigers — who dropped to 25-3 and 12-3 in Big 12 play entering in their showdown Saturday at Kansas — are already itching to get back to practice and learn from their mistakes. English agreed, and you can probably guess what the focus for this week will be.“We didn’t defend the way we usually defend, the way we need to defend,” English said. “That will be fixed. That won’t happen again.”

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Missouri again has no answer for K-State’s physical play

Missouri again has no answer for the physical play of Kansas State.

By TEREZ A. PAYLOR

The Kansas City Star

More Sports:

COLUMBIA -- Kim English heard the question and responded quickly, with a solemn glare on his face and certain sternness in his voice.

Did he see any similarities between Missouri’s 78-68 loss to Kansas State on Tuesday and the Tigers’ 16-point loss to the Wildcats in early January?

“The outcome,” English said, flatly.

English was correct, obviously. But in the aftermath of Tuesday’s unexpected loss to the unranked Wildcats — the third-ranked Tigers’ first this season at Mizzou Arena — it became incredibly clear that there were more similarities than that, with the most significant one being Missouri’s inability to match Kansas State’s physicality.

“Their length does bother us,” Haith said, “and the way the play the game (does, too).”

Haith admitted to this similarity with one stipulation: There’s no doubt the Tigers competed harder this time, though they still struggled to deal with the Wildcats’ willingness to body them up.

“When you’re coming across the lane, there’s chesting, there’s bumping, there’s a lot of stuff going on off the ball,” Haith said. “When the games are played like that … we haven’t played well. They were just physical, very physical off the ball.”

The fact that Missouri actually made a game of it in the second half, cutting a 16-point deficit to three at one point, supports Haith’s assessment of his team’s desire to win. So does the fact that Missouri, which was obviously eager to avenge its 75-59 loss on Jan. 7, started out strong and led 16-11 roughly 7 minutes in.

But that’s when the tide slowly began to turn, as Kansas State started grinding out possessions and closed the half with a 29-14 run.

“We didn’t punch back early,” English said. “And when you do that and you play good teams, it’s an uphill battle all the way.”

That happened for several reasons, the most noticeable being Kansas State’s strong defense. Led by 6-foot-11 junior forward Jordan Henriquez and 6-8 senior forward Jamar Samuels, who combined for five blocks by halftime, Kansas State clogged the lane and contested shots, forcing Missouri to shoot 10 of 29 (34.5 percent).

Meanwhile, Kansas State routinely outmuscled Missouri to get to the spots on the court it wanted on offense. Even when the Tigers did defend well, the Wildcats often found a way to score, finishing 14 of 28 (50 percent) from the field.

“They made some shots early that — when you play good defense — you don’t expect them to make,” said MU senior Marcus Denmon, who finished with 19 points.

Foul trouble also hurt Missouri. Both teams were called for nine fouls in the half, but things were so bad for the Tigers that by halftime — senior guard Kim English had three fouls and senior forward Steve Moore had two fouls — that Haith subbed in little-used senior forward Andrew Jones to eat up some minutes before the break.

Despite all that, Missouri mounted a comeback in the second half. Kansas State stretched its lead to 61-45, when the Tigers got on a 15-2 run that cut the deficit to three with 6 minutes, 33 seconds left.

The sellout crowd of 15,061 at Mizzou Arena was rocking, but McGruder answered with a clutch three. After two free throws by Missouri junior Michael Dixon, who finished with a team-high 21 points, McGruder added two more free throws during a stretch that quieted the crowd and swung the momentum back Kansas State’s way.

Not coincidentally, Missouri suddenly went cold from the field soon after. The Tigers, who missed nine three-pointers during the last 5 minutes, could muster only four points the rest of the way, which all but sealed their fate.

“We were trying to get a five-point shot, instead of continuing to play and being aggressive and attacking,” said Haith, whose team finished shooting 38.3 percent from the field. “I thought we settled.”

In contrast, Haith said Kansas State, which shot 53.8 percent, didn’t do much settling on offense. McGruder led the way with 24 points, and freshman big man Thomas Gipson had 13 crucial points on six-of-seven shooting.

“The one thing I will tell you is that when people get up on close to the basket, we’ve got to be able to have a little more resistance,” Haith said. “Gipson get the ball close to the paint, we turn, and we just let him lay it up. That’s got to change.”

The good news is that according to Denmon, the Tigers — who dropped to 25-3 and 12-3 in Big 12 play entering in their showdown Saturday at Kansas — are already itching to get back to practice and learn from their mistakes.

English agreed, and you can probably guess what the focus for this week will be.

“We didn’t defend the way we usually defend, the way we need to defend,” English said. “That will be fixed. That won’t happen again.”