Mizzou couldn’t get enough from forwards as Kentucky downs Tigers in SEC opener
When Missouri Tigers coach Cuonzo Martin and his staff scouted the Kentucky Wildcats, they knew Saturday’s game came down to who would get more from their big men.
That responsibility fell on a trio of Mizzou forwards: Jeremiah Tilmon, Reed Nikko and Mitchell Smith. If the Tigers hoped to upset Kentucky at Rupp Arena on Saturday, they would need to step up, Martin said.
For the Wildcats, they rely on forwards like Nick Richards for their production. But the bigger factor lies in Kentucky’s quick guards, who penetrate the paint and get baskets close to the rim, a mighty test for Mizzou.
But as the Tigers (8-5, 0-1 SEC) lost 71-59 to the Wildcats (10-3, 0-1), they didn’t get enough output from their forwards. A large free-throw disparity also downed Mizzou as it lost its SEC opener and snapped a four-game winning streak.
“We gotta get more production from Reed, Mitch and Jeremiah,” Martin said. “We felt like as a staff going into the game, the difference would be who could get interior production. They won the battle.”
While Tilmon was available, he didn’t start. Nikko took his place in the lineup. But when Tilmon was on the floor, his foul trouble reappeared. In eight minutes, Tilmon picked up four fouls while scoring seven points.
As the Tigers mixed players, Richards was a force for Kentucky. When the Wildcats struggled to make shots early, Richards thrived: He scored 14 of their first 16 points. The 6-foot-11 forward finished with 21 points and 12 rebounds. Kentucky guard Immanuel Quickley also scored 23 points, converting on threes (4 of 8) and getting to the free-throw line consistently (9 of 9).
“We respect him as a good player,” Nikko said of Richards. “We’ve played him the last couple years, we know he’s a very capable player, very good player. Our game plan was we had to try boxing him out, keep him out of the paint.”
The fouls were also an important part of the Tigers’ struggles. They finished with 30 fouls, and seven Tigers picked up at least three personal fouls. It meant multiple players in foul trouble — which forced Martin to dip into his bench.
Martin played both Mario McKinney Jr. and Alex Okongo, two little-used bench pieces through the opening part of the season. Okongo was making his Mizzou debut after transferring from junior college. Twelve different Tigers saw the floor Saturday.
But the bigger issue was the free-throw disparity. As the Tigers kept fouling, the Wildcats kept racking up free throws. While Missouri struggled offensively, so did Kentucky. The Tigers shot 36.2 percent (21 of 58), while the Wildcats shot 41.7 percent (20 of 48).
The difference was in the free throws. Kentucky shot 27 of 30 from the charity stripe while Mizzou made 11 of 17 free-throw attempts. Coupled with the fouls, it was a large gap between the two teams on Saturday.
It led to a 71-point performance by Kentucky — the second-highest point total Mizzou has allowed this season.
“We have to do a better job not letting them get in the paint in the first place with all those fouls,” Nikko said. “They got attempts at the rim. I think if we do a better job limiting them on those drives, not letting them get to the rim in the first place that will alleviate a lot of those fouls.”
When the Tigers opened an early lead through a hot start, they did so by getting to the rim, just like Kentucky. It was off the efforts of driving to the basket, earning points in the paint against the Wildcats’ forwards.
But the shots stopped falling for the Tigers. After Mizzou built an eight-point lead, a 22-9 run by Kentucky gave the Wildcats the lead at halftime, one they wouldn’t yield. Guard Dru Smith led Mizzou with 11 points as baskets were difficult to come by.
“We came in with energy,” Smith said. “We were locked in there in the beginning. We just kind of tailed off there in the latter end of the first half. I think we have to keep our energy, keep our effort up throughout the entire game.”
The loss was Mizzou’s first since the upset to Charleston Southern, though Martin said his team wasn’t dwelling on the defeat. The Tigers are next in action at 6 p.m. Tuesday against Tennessee at Mizzou Arena.
“We lost to a good team at home,” Martin said. “It’s not going back to the drawing board.”
This story was originally published January 4, 2020 at 5:48 PM.