‘We can’t have games like this:’ Mizzou follows up slow start with little fight
The slow start reared its head again for the Missouri Tigers.
But this time, Mizzou coach Cuonzo Martin’s basketball team had no response. The Tigers (9-7, 1-3 SEC) were blown out by the Bulldogs (10-6, 1-3), scoring a season-low in a 72-45 loss on Tuesday at Humphrey Coliseum.
Mizzou looked discombobulated on offense, turning the ball over 19 times. When shots don’t fall, the Tigers turn to their trusty defense — but they came up with nothing on Tuesday. Martin pointed to the combination of Mizzou’s 19 turnovers and missed three-pointers.
“We gave them too much comfort offensively to allow them to flow into their offense,” Martin said. “Didn’t have the physical presence. … Us on offense, combination of turning the ball over but also not being aggressive, ready to shoot the ball, attack the rim.”
From the opening tip, the Tigers looked flat. As Mississippi State converted on back-to-back buckets, Mizzou turned it over on back-to-back possessions. The Bulldogs hit their first six of seven shots; the Tigers made just one of their first seven.
By the time Mizzou scored double-digit points, Mississippi State had a 15-point lead.
“They came out and I thought they were comfortable on offense,” MU guard Dru Smith said. “We were allowing them to get to their spots. Get shots that they make, the scouting report said that they make. We just have to do a better job there early and throughout the entire game just locking in.”
After other slow starts this season, the Tigers eventually threatened to strike back, as seen in the Hall of Fame Classic games against Butler and Oklahoma. While they didn’t win those games, they showed life and competed.
There was none of that on Tuesday. Whenever the Tigers inched closer, the Bulldogs surged forward. By halftime, the deficit ballooned to 40-20 — the worst half by Mizzou this season.
Even when the Mizzou defense held the Bulldogs scoreless for nearly three minutes midway through the second half, the Tigers couldn’t capitalize. By the time Martin emptied his bench, the lead maxed out at 32 points.
“It’s rough,” Smith said. “It’s definitely something we have to take a minute to reflect on. Just understand we can’t have games like this. No matter what the game happened before, we have to play every game.”
Mizzou’s offense took several steps back after a season-best performance against Florida. The Tigers seemingly couldn’t miss against the Gators, burying key three-pointers.
But the shots didn’t fall on Tuesday as the Tigers followed a high with a low, shooting 25% from three in the loss.
“We gotta do a better job of finding that middle ground,” Smith said, “and just understanding that, whether shots are going in or not, we have to be locked in throughout the game.”
The relative bright spot for Mizzou was Kobe Brown, who scored a team-high 14 points, the only Tiger in double-digit scoring. Guard Javon Pickett added nine points.
“That’s basketball, it’s going to happen, you’re going to have your nights,” Pickett said. “We just gotta continue going into film. Going to practice. Making sure that we’re working on our game, watching what we did wrong. Especially on the offensive end.”
After the blowout, Martin said he doesn’t do anything special for practice, instead focusing on the next opponent and game. Mizzou next travels to play Alabama at 2:30 p.m. Saturday in Tuscaloosa.
“You prepare for the next team,” Martin said. “You watch film, scout this one. I like to think this is the worst ones we put behind us. You scout the next opponent, which is Alabama for us, and you prepare to win the next game.”