Mizzou basketball looking to sweep Arkansas, remain perfect in Rally For Rhyan games
It’s a position the Missouri men’s basketball team is getting used to after an up-and-down season. The Tigers are looking for another bout of redemption after Wednesday’s blowout loss at Ole Miss, where they were thoroughly outplayed by the Rebels.
Mizzou has dealt with plenty of blows this season: a 20-point home loss to Tennessee, a collapse against Mississippi State and a road loss at Auburn. But MU coach Cuonzo Martin’s squad hasn’t dropped back-to-back games all season, always responding with a victory.
The 10th-ranked Tigers (13-4, 6-4 SEC) host Arkansas in a crucial conference showdown at 3 p.m. Saturday in Mizzou Arena. The Hogs (15-5, 7-4) were dealt a blow by MU earlier this season, but are firmly in the mix to finish in the top four of the SEC and receive a double bye in the SEC Tournament.
Mizzou must first gather victories with six games still on the schedule (two are still indefinitely postponed). The Tigers will pick up the pieces defensively, especially after a subpar outing at Ole Miss. It’s been a recent struggle of Mizzou, which Martin said comes back to effort.
“We gotta get stops,” Martin said. “We’re a defensive-minded team, get the ball up the floor, moving. I just think it’s pride and keeping the ball out of the lane. And it comes back to pride.”
The Tigers get a huge in-home advantage as Saturday will be the Rally For Rhyan game, an annual tradition to raise funds for pediatric cancer research. The event is in honor of Rhyan Loos, the daughter of Brad Loos, a former assistant under MU coach Kim Anderson. Brad is now an MU assistant athletic director for major gifts.
The tradition started after Rhyan, then 5 years old, was diagnosed with leukemia in fall 2015. By 2016, the Rally For Rhyan game was born. Rhyan has since defeated cancer and has been in remission.
But the Rally For Rhyan game continues — and MU players have circled the showdown. The Tigers are 5-0 in the annual game, including an overtime win over Arkansas last season. Former Mizzou forward Reed Nikko, who graduated last year and was recruited by Brad, stressed to his team during his tenure how important the game was.
“It’s important to keep it going — especially when you’re raising money for pediatric cancer,” Martin said. “I think that’s very important. Coach Loos and his family have done a tremendous job of carrying that torch and I respect it and hopefully it stays there.”
Mizzou rematches Arkansas after having little trouble dispatching the Hogs the first time they met. The Tigers dominated the paint in an 81-68 win that saw Arkansas coach Eric Musselman ejected late out of frustration.
MU forward Jeremiah Tilmon exploded for a career-high 25 points while adding 11 rebounds (he has since reset his career-high in a 33-point performance vs. TCU). Mizzou guard Xavier Pinson had 23 points as he got to the free throw line for 12 of 15 attempts.
The Tigers will need more from the duo of Pinson and Tilmon, who combined for six points each against Ole Miss. Much of Mizzou’s offense revolves around the pair — Tilmon inside the paint; Pinson with his drives — and quiet nights put pressure on the rest of the team.
Arkansas, like always, will play at one of the fastest paces in the country. That worked to the Tigers’ favor last game as they sped it up in what was an ugly shooting game. But Missouri was the better team in an impressive win over the Hogs.
Arkansas will also have versatile forward Justin Smith, who missed the first edition of the game this season because of an injury. Smith, the graduate transfer from Indiana, is crucial to the Hogs’ game plan and should create some problems for Mizzou.
“I like his energy,” Martin said of Justin Smith. “Plays hard. At that time, he was their best rounder on the team. Can defend the four and the five positions. Good off the dribble; slashing.”
Martin’s still searching for his 250th career win, going into Saturday’s game with an all-time record of 249-171. He’s 63-50 at Mizzou, where he’s in his fourth season.
To do so, the Tigers will have to return to their defensive ethos that Martin prides him and his program on.
“It never has to do with the ball going to the rim,” Martin said. “Your defensive effort has to be better. Gotta be tough in certain areas. That’s been the case in some wins. You have to do that.”