Smith paces Mizzou, but offense struggles in final tuneup before Hall of Fame Classic
After Missouri Tigers guard Mark Smith made his first two three-pointers Wednesday, the Tigers went cold. They missed their next 13 three-point attempts.
It was a difficult night for the Mizzou offense in its 70-52 win over Morehead State at Mizzou Arena. While Smith was the marksman the Tigers needed — he scored 21 points on 7-of-9 shooting — the rest of the offense struggled.
Mizzou shot 40.4% (23-of-57) from the field and 18.2% (4-of-22) from three-point range. The Tigers also had 17 turnovers.
“It had more to do with us not being locked in offensively,” Mizzou coach Cuonzo Martin said. “We did a poor job taking care of the ball. We were careless. You could see it.”
Morehead State’s game plan consisted of going under Mizzou’s ball screens, packing the paint and making life difficult for forward Jeremiah Tilmon. The 6-foot-10 forward had a quiet game with five points and five turnovers, double-teams leading to mistakes.
As Tilmon’s effectiveness decreased, the Eagles enticed Mizzou into shooting “easy” three-pointers, according to Martin. Not wide-open threes, but the ones where Mizzou settled for shots instead of working towards better ones.
“You don’t want guys passing or thinking about the shot,” Martin said. “You work on the shot (in practice), you shoot the shot.”
When Smith succeeded, it was often because he was mixing his outside shots and drives to the paint. Dru Smith pointed out how his fellow guard has a reputation of being a shooter after making 45% from three-point range last year, leading to open driving lanes.
On Wednesday, whenever Mark Smith had the ball outside the arc, the Eagles would close out hard to deny the three. Defenders were caught off-balance when he drove the lane, allowing him to convert lay-ups or draw fouls.
“We trust in our offense,” Mark Smith said. “We say guys know their strength. We encourage them to shoot their shots even if they’re missing.”
But outside of Mark Smith, it was a difficult night elsewhere. Dru Smith said he and his teammates took these offensive struggles personally, and vowed to fix their mistakes.
As one of two ball-handlers alongside Xavier Pinson, dictating the flow of the offense also depends on Dru Smith.
“Just try to control the game as much as you can,” Dru Smith said. “Not let it get going too fast. You don’t want to move the game too slowly and make sure everybody’s getting involved.”
When Mizzou was able to string together runs against Morehead State, the effort came from its defense — exactly how Martin intends it to happen. Late in the first half, Morehead State turnovers led to transition buckets for Kobe Brown, who hit a pair of layups during a 9-0 stretch.
Of the 12 Tigers who played Wednesday, 10 scored. Only eight players played Monday. Martin said facing Morehead State gave him the chance to go deeper into his rotation.
Ahead of back-to-back games Monday and Tuesday in Kansas City, he said he’ll rely on that depth when his starters need a rest.
“Our goal is just to play the guys that give us the best chance to win games,” Martin said. “The guys that play hard, understand what we’re trying to do.”
Next up for Missouri is the Hall of Fame Classic at KC’s Sprint Center. The Tigers take on Butler in a Monday semifinal, then face Oklahoma or Stanford in the championship or consolation game Tuesday.
“It should be a great game,” Mark Smith said of Butler. “They’re a great team. I’m pretty sure the guys are excited to play them, like we are every day.”