Jordan Geist, officiating and Mark Smith: Five takeaways from Missouri’s loss to LSU
Missouri had another heartbreaking overtime loss on Saturday, this one to No. 25 LSU after the Tigers blew a 14-point lead in the final two minutes of regulation to send the game into extra time. The Tigers have lost five of six, with No. 16 Auburn on deck for Wednesday. Here’s five takeaways from MU’s loss:
There were some questionable calls, but a lot of blame goes around for a choke job like that: It’s hard to a blow a 14-point lead with that little time left, which is why the officials can’t take all the credit, since the calls on Jeremiah Tilmon and Ronnie Suggs only resulted in three points for LSU. Missouri missed free throws and had its usual careless turnovers to help get LSU within striking distance. That part isn’t on the refs. MU’s Cuonzo Martin also got outcoached by Will Wade in the final stretch.
Xavier Pinson continues to be a factor: He’s had eight points the last two games since his benching and has given Missouri major minutes when he’s on the floor. Against LSU he looked more active on defense and did better with the no-look passes. He still had three turnovers. Jordan Geist had four turnovers. Pinson has 33 turnovers on the season, while Geist has 40 and Tilmon 49. Those are MU’s biggest liabilities with ball security. Pinson needs to keep the turnovers down, but he’s MU’s best asset off the bench.
Mark Smith’s injury isn’t that bad: Cuonzo Martin said Smith couldn’t play after a rough go in shootaround, but Martin is optimistic Smith will play at No. 16 Auburn on Wednesday. A serious injury that sidelined Smith for an extended period of time would have been a death sentence for MU’s season. If Smith can play Wednesday, that’s good news for MU.
Jordan Geist continues to gather praise: Wade called Geist “tremendous” and “phenomenal” and went so far as to compare his play to Villanova’s guards. Geist was Missouri’s best player Saturday with a season-high 25 points and career-high 11 rebounds and hit a lot of difficult shots throughout the game. If he keeps it up, he could make the all-SEC team, given the amount of opposing coaches he has in his corner.
This would have been one of Martin’s best wins at MU: Missouri’s student section was packed on Saturday, a positive sign, given how the season has gone, and the upset win would have put the NIT back on the table for MU and made Wednesday’s game at Auburn more interesting. Instead, it’s one of Mizzou’s worst losses under Martin and now makes one wonder how quickly the team is able to get over it.
This story was originally published January 26, 2019 at 10:24 PM with the headline "Jordan Geist, officiating and Mark Smith: Five takeaways from Missouri’s loss to LSU."