Mizzou, Jordan Barnett still learning how to finish close games

Missouri is still learning how to win games.

Against Arkansas last Saturday, the Tigers found a way to make enough plays during crunch time in the closing minutes of a close game to pull out a victory.

Four days later at Reed Arena in College Station, Texas, Mizzou was unable to find the winning formula versus Texas A&M.

“It just seemed like that whenever we got close or we got tied or whatever, we couldn’t make the plays …,” third-year Tigers coach Kim Anderson said. “We turned it over at inopportune times.”

Mizzou (6-17, 1-10 SEC) fell into a classic basketball trap after spotting A&M a 10-point lead in the game’s opening minutes.

The Tigers fought and clawed for nearly 35 minutes before drawing even on junior forward Jordan Barnett’s three-pointer with 5  1/2 minutes left.

Happy to finally have filled in the hole it dug early, MU took a deep breath.

The Aggies pounced during that moment’s relaxation, which included back-to-back Tigers turnovers — first by sophomore guard Jordan Geist on an inbounds play, which led to a layup, and 16 seconds later by sophomore guard Cullen VanLeer.

“We may have gotten a little comfortable after we tied it up,” said Barnett, a St. Louis native and transfer from Texas. “We can’t let that happen.”

Throw in a couple defensive lapses — allowing an open three-pointer, and not getting back as Robert Williams punctuated the A&M’s win with a dunk in transition — and Mizzou found itself on another somber flight home.

“Tying it up gave us some confidence, but we had a few mental lapses after that,” said Barnett, who scored a game- and career-high 23 on Wednesday. “We have to limit those, especially toward the end of the game. We finished against Arkansas (last Saturday) but weren’t able to do it today.”

Barnett’s play provides a glimmer of hope for the Tigers, who have seven games remaining in the regular season.

He has averaged 20.0 points — shooting 14 of 22 overall and 6 of 13 from three-point range — with 5.5 rebounds during the last two games off the bench.

“I always tell him, ‘I think there’s more in the tank,’ but I thought he played really well tonight …,” Anderson said Wednesday. “I didn’t know if we were going to score for a while, but he came in and made some shots for us.”

Shot-making remains an Achilles’ heel for Mizzou, but it is Vanderbilt’s ability to fill it up from long range that is most troublesome looking toward Saturday’s game at Mizzou Arena.

Don’t expect Tigers to use the same defensive game plan — a heavy emphasis on zone in an effort to combat the Aggies’ overwhelming interior size, but that also allowed Admon Gilder to get free for six three-pointers — against the Commodores.

“I didn’t really plan on playing that much zone, but with foul trouble and the way we had to play I thought that was the best option,” Anderson said.

It won’t be against Vanderbilt, which is shooting an SEC-best 39.1 percent from three-point range on the season.

Defending the three-point line has been a struggle for Mizzou in conference and could be particularly challenging against Vandy’s quartet of long-range assassins.

Junior guard Riley LaChance, senior guard Nolan Cressler, junior guard Matthew Fisher-Davis, who is returning from a one-game suspension, and 7-foot-1 senior forward Luke Kornet all shoot better 38 percent from beyond the arc this season.

“That’s definitely going to be our main focus,” Barnett said.

This story was originally published February 10, 2017 at 1:10 PM with the headline "Mizzou, Jordan Barnett still learning how to finish close games."