What Mizzou basketball must continue after recent success, plus injury updates
After the Missouri Tigers turned in embarrassing performances in road losses to South Carolina and Texas A&M, they knew they needed a change.
Energy was lacking in those defeats, both blowouts. But in the Tigers’ recent string of success — defeating Arkansas and a close loss to No. 25 LSU — there’s a common factor that Mizzou coach Cuonzo Martin’s team knows all too well: rebounding.
Take away everything else, Martin explains, and focus on the rebounding battle — that’s the best barometer of success. It’s also how they measure toughness. So as Martin and the Tigers play host to No. 11 Auburn at 5 p.m. Saturday in Mizzou Arena, they look to continue their recent positive trend.
“It’s not about making or missing shots,” Martin said. “Of course you want to do that. If we’re winning the rebound battles or in the ball part of it’s going back-and-forth, that’s an indication of how the game will go down.”
For Mizzou, its goal every game is to win the rebounding margin by at least 10 rebounds. At the Tigers’ best — games like the Arkansas and Illinois victories — they physically overtake the opposition. That’s reflected on the glass.
While the Tigers outrebounded Arkansas 52-35 in the Rally For Rhyan game win, they took a step back against LSU. They dominated on the boards early as they built their lead, doing exactly what they set out to do. But by the end of the game, it was just a 32-31 rebounding edge as LSU climbed back into the game and earned a win.
“When we don’t rebound, we don’t play with an aggressive tone, you can see the result,” Martin said. “You don’t have to look at the scoreboard to see the results of it.”
For Auburn, aside from a two-game losing streak, Bruce Pearl’s Tigers have been flawless on their way to a 22-2 record and 9-2 mark in SEC play. They’re coming off an SEC Tournament championship and Final Four berth, so their roster knows success.
Auburn also plays loads of close games: four of its last five games went to at least one overtime. And they won all of those games as part of a seven-game winning streak.
“Guys that are battled-tested, been in games,” Martin said of Auburn. “You have that level of experience. You win in (overtime) games because they’ve been there.”
While they lost key players like Bryce Brown, Jared Harper and Chuma Okeke from last season, the current cast has been steady. Freshman forward Isaac Okoro has been a major contributor, but he’s questionable because of a hamstring injury.
Auburn’s led by guard Samir Doughty, who averages 16 points per game. The visiting Tigers are also a team that draws loads of fouls — a major point of weakness for MU throughout the season.
With Mizzou looking for another upset bid, it’ll look to focus on the rebounding margin against a talented Auburn team. It’s the one area MU can control from an effort perspective.
“We have momentum,” guard Javon Pickett said. “We really wanted that game against LSU. But a lot of our guys, we’re still positive. We went out there, we competed. We just gotta find a way to close it out. We’re still feeling good about ourselves, a lot of momentum.”
Eye on injuries
Neither guard Mark Smith or forward Jeremiah Tilmon will be available for Saturday’s game, Martin said.
Mark Smith has been dealing with a lower back injury, missing the past four games. He was available for the Arkansas game on Feb. 8 but didn’t see the court. Then he was considered a game-time decision against LSU but didn’t go through pregame warmups.
For Tilmon, he played at the Texas A&M on Feb. 4 for 12 minutes, playing for the first time in exactly a month. But an apparent setback has sidelined him as he deals with a stress fracture in his left foot. Martin said Tilmon’s status was back to being week to week.
“I assume so,” Martin said of Tilmon’s re-injury. “He felt good in the game (against Texas A&M). Again, it’s more his call. After that, said it was a little sore, so went from there.”
Mizzou guard Dru Smith has been going through his own injury issues. He tweaked his ankle late in the West Virginia loss three weeks ago as it has persisted. While he’s been getting treatment and has played through the pain, he’s appeared limited by his ankle.
Martin kept him out of Thursday’s practice partly because of the injury. But Mizzou’s leading scorer should be ready to go to face Auburn.
“Just try not to worry about it,” Dru Smith said of the ankle. “If it’s gonna hurt, it’s gonna hurt at the end of the day. Just go out there and do whatever you can to play as normal as possible.”