Missouri basketball: Short rotation, NCAA record and about those three-pointers ...
Missouri men’s basketball coach Cuonzo Martin did something that’s been pretty rare this season during Tuesday night’s game against the Texas A&M Aggies.
He shortened his bench
Just eight players saw the court in the Tigers’ 66-64 loss to the Aggies on Tuesday at Mizzou Arena. It was mostly a seven-man rotation as forward Parker Braun played just two minutes, though he was crucial on the final play of the game.
Mizzou’s depth was billed as a potential strength this season — any hope of being competitive would need to come from its deep bench. But between injuries, availability and other factors Tuesday, the Tigers leaned on anyone who was ready to play.
“I don’t have a problem with doing it,” Martin said of the short rotation. “We just rolled with what we felt like we had.”
Mizzou was already dealing with limited options at the forward position. Jeremiah Tilmon remains out as he continues to nurse a stress fracture in his left leg. While he was walking on crutches and in a walking boot on his left foot after the initial diagnosis, Tilmon has ditched the crutches in recent days.
The Tigers’ bench was abnormally limited Tuesday evening because forward Kobe Brown was sick, Martin said. While he was available if absolutely needed, he wound up sitting an entire game for the first time in his collegiate career. He didn’t start the game at Alabama — his home state — because Martin wanted to exploit matchups against the speedy Crimson Tide, regulating Brown to the bench.
“It’s definitely tough when you have a guy like that out. Kobe’s very versatile. He could help us on the defensive end,” Mizzou guard Dru Smith said. “We need Kobe to be back as soon as he can. But of course we just hope he gets well soon.”
Elsewhere, freshman Tray Jackson didn’t play after struggling in the past two road games. And former Mizzou guard Mario McKinney Jr. is no longer with the team after entering the NCAA’s transfer portal.
By the end of Tuesday’s game, both Javon Pickett and Reed Nikko had fouled out. That left Mizzou with few options in the final moments of a comeback attempt that ultimately fell short.
Die by the three
Mizzou relied heavily on three-point attempts Tuesday ... with little reward as the end result. The Tigers shot 25.7% from three-point range, hitting nine of 35 tries from behind the arc.
Martin said he liked the open shots his players took, including those from the corner. He doesn’t plan to alter Mizzou’s game plan in that regard — Martin said doing so would be “easier said than done,” considering his personnel.
Some of MU’s players just aren’t prone to driving and penetrating the paint. Rather, they’re catch-and-shoot three-point specialists. That’s partly why the Tigers shoot so many threes; wanting to take advantage of what opposing defenses give them is another factor.
“You have to do what you do,” Martin said. “This is one of those cases where, if you have a guy like Jeremiah (Tilmon) you can throw the ball inside to (him). Now all of a sudden guys will spot up shooting threes.”
Free-throw record
Mizzou broke an NCAA record Tuesday, making 54 straight free throws over multiple games. The Tigers made their first 23 free-throw attempts against the Aggies.
Combine that with their perfect 31-for-31 outing at the line against Alabama, and MU broke the previous NCAA record of 51 consecutive made free throws.
“Those guys did something that will go down in history,” Martin said. “But all of those guys will say they want to win the game more than anything. But we’ve got to keep plugging along.”