How change in practice routine led to Mizzou Tigers basketball upset over No. 15 Bama
As Cuonzo Martin sat in front of the media following Missouri men’s basketball’s 92-86 upset victory over No. 15 Alabama, he remarked that his knees were hurting.
It wasn’t from coaching on the sidelines or from celebrating the big win Saturday — he was pretty even keel about that — but rather from the practices leading up to the game.
“It took me back to my old school days of just really getting after it,” Martin said.
In part due to the lack of players available because of COVID-19 protocols, in part due to the lack of winning, Mizzou (7-7, 1-1 SEC) switched up its practice routine in the 10-day break between games, which played a crucial role in the Tigers’ ability to knock off the Crimson Tide (11-4, 2-1 SEC).
“Practice was a whole different energy,” Mizzou guard Jarron “Boogie” Coleman said.
Thanks to a combination of positive COVID-19 tests and contact tracing, the Tigers didn’t have enough players to go five-on-five in practices. Up until Thursday, only six guys were able to compete on the court together while others were limited to individual skill workouts and conditioning.
You would think that would make practices less intense and be a hindrance in Missouri’s preparation to face Alabama.
“It was more extreme this week,” Coleman said. “It was good for us though.”
Martin worked his players out twice a day, once in the morning and once in the evening. There was a lot more conditioning and skill work than usual, members of the team said. But most importantly, there was a lot more accountability.
“There was a lot of going at each other,” Coleman said. “Just trying to challenge each other in every drill we do to make each other better. And then it’s more of a focus as well. Just try to be more accountable of our actions. If you mess up or something happens, you gonna have to do something for it.”
According to guard Javon Pickett, if players weren’t talking during a drill, they had to sprint. If they lost the drill, players had to run suicides.
“Basically you was trying to practice perfectly so you wouldn’t have to run,” Coleman said. “But obviously you can’t do that. So just trying to eliminate your mistakes. And it helps you out with just habits and just being on your stuff during the game.”
With Missouri entering Saturday’s game with the second-worst three-point shooting percentage among 358 Division I teams at 23.8%, Martin started putting limits on which players could shoot threes.
Only three Tigers attempted more than two shots from beyond the arc in the win over Alabama. The result: Mizzou made 9 of 24 three-point attempts, tying a season-high. Coleman had four of those on a 36.4% clip.
Martin spent a lot of time in those practices emphasizing the importance of being aggressive, assertive and driving the ball as well.
Missouri scored 1.333 points per possession against the Crimson Tide, its best mark in that category this season — which subsequently resulted in the most points scored by the team all year. MU also had a season-high 19 assists as ball movement was much improved.
The Tigers looked like a different team for much of the afternoon. They easily had their best offensive performance of the season, showing life and energy that had been missing for much of the year. It was surprising to many, but not to players and coaches: they knew the work they had put in leading up to the game.
“We have ways to go as a team,” Martin said. “But I think we’ve made tremendous strides, especially in the week or so we’ve had a chance to practice and get better. I thought our guys came with their hard hat, they worked hard.”
