Missouri Tigers defeat Loyola Maryland in Columbia, but a troubling trend is forming
Missouri men’s basketball closed out a three-game stretch at home with a 78-70 win over Loyola Maryland. If only that sentence were as simple as it sounded.
The Tigers held off Loyola, but they struggled in three areas that have persisted as problem spots so far this season.
Here are three troubling trends that continued on Saturday in the win over Loyola...
Mizzou’s cold-shooting woes
Against Minnesota, South Carolina State and (now) Loyola, the Tigers have been cold shooting the ball.
This time, a cold spell came when MU was up 22 points.
Loyola went on a 15-0 run to get back into the game. A 31-11 scoreline suddenly became much closer — later narrowing to 33-29 — and Missouri had no answers.
Loyola got open looks on its 3-pointers. It wasn’t just late closeouts on the perimeter, either. Missouri’s guards were going under Loyola’s screens, which opened up plenty of looks from 3.
Loyola made 6 of its 16 3-pointers in the first half, but four came during the extended 18-2 stretch where Missouri struggled to guard effectively.
MU’s defense wasn’t the only aspect that let Loyola back into the game, however. Missouri’s offense has become plenty worrisome in its own right.
Missouri’s search for a go-to player continues
The Tigers’ offense has already stagnated too many times this season.
It stops. Players don’t move. It doesn’t resemble the offense we knew from last season, which flew across the court, threw down transition dunks and went nuclear from the 3-point range. Those facets have yet to emerge from this team, and it’s fair to wonder if they will.
Some players are doing too much; Nick Honor’s drives to the lane fall into this category. The defense collapses on him, and it’s hard for the 5-foot-10 guard to finish at the rim when multiple defenders (with a size advantage) are contesting his layups. Honor is much more effective as a kick-out passer on drives and as a shooter.
Caleb Grill made two 3-pointers on Saturday. He has made nine on the season, shooting 26% from 3-point range.
Coach Dennis Gates’ advice to his slumping shooters has been to just keep shooting. That’s good advice, but Grill has struggled to find a consistent touch from the floor. Instead, he has been effective closer to the basket, much like DeAndre Gholston was last year for MU.
One bright spot: Anthony Robinson has been able to get baskets and make plays when MU needs them. Robinson had 10 points and four rebounds.
Sean East has done the same. He scored 15 points and dished four assists Saturday in a closer role. He sank free throws and floaters to keep Loyola down in the second half.
Noah Carter, who Gates said needs to decide if he’s primarily going to be a perimeter or post player, scored 18 points and made three of his six 3-pointers.
Whatever the case may be, Missouri still needs a player who can score a couple of baskets when the opposition is on a run to cut that momentum.
The foul-fest continues
Gates has been wholly frustrated with fouls in the past. That trend continued on Saturday.
For the fifth time in seven games, Missouri committed 16 or more personal fouls.
Five MU players had multiple fouls. Tamar Bates, East, Jordan Butler, Trent Pierce and Robinson all had at least two. Bates had three, which kept him off the floor for most of the game.
For Butler, Pierce and Robinson, racking up fouls is partly a byproduct of them being freshmen. They need to get used to the speed of the game and how refereeing at the college level can be less forgiving than in high school.
It’s something they’ll all learn over time.
The Star has partnered with the Columbia Daily Tribune for coverage of Missouri Tigers athletics.