It’s never easy to watch the other team go bombs away, especially when a healthier clip of them are going in that might normally. That was the case for Missouri as they saw VMI connect on 9 of 22 three
points in the first half, en route to the Keydets only being down 10 points. While it felt like the Tigers were in control of the game, the continued hanging around by VMI, after what happened on Friday night, surely had many fans nervous.
Again Missouri was playing short handed, now with four players sitting out due to injury or illness. Again they were heavy favorites, and again, it seemed like their opponent couldn’t miss.
But there wasn’t a whole lot of messing around, especially defensively, once the two teams got to the second half. Missouri largely watched VMI’s Tyler Johnson score 21 points in the first half on a variety of deep threes and points at the free throw line. In the second half, the defensive communication was much better, awareness of Johnson was more locked in, and he found little room in half court sets. He still got to 10 points in the second half, but he really had to work for it, and his only open jumper came on a 2 on 1 fast break where he pulled up from about 24 feet.
What this looked like, VMI coming out feeling pretty good, but the size, length, and athleticism caught up and then the dam broke.
TEAM STATS
VMI was always going to have trouble stopping Missouri from scoring. They’re smaller and less athletic, so the goal was obviously to take a heap of threes and hope for a shooting variance game. The plan largely worked in the first half, but once the jumpers stopped dropping things got really ugly.
- A Rebounding Advantage to say the least. It was a nice recovery after such a poor performance against SEMO. I don’t know what happened last game, but you should be able to wipe a team like this off the glass.
- If I’m being picky, a 14.4% turnover rate against a team not pressuring you is still high. There are quite a few unforced errors on offense, and a good amount from guards!
- With this team’s ability to draw fouls, in particular Mark Mitchell, it’s good to see them recover after a horrible start at the line. Against SEMO in the second half, Mizzou made 16-21, after starting 3-10. They then went for 71.4% on 35 attempts against VMI. You can’t go to the line that much and not cash in.
If you’re looking for any moral victories here in a blowout of a team you were supposed to blowout, is that they’ve turned the corner on free throw shooting, and they looked to be more locked in defensively in the second half. VMI ran out of gas and then the score really got away, but for the first three games, Dennis Gates has tinkered as much as he can with a limited lineup. And he’s found something that worked better. I still want to see this team with all it’s pieces though.
INDIVIDUAL STATS
Trifecta: Mark Mitchell, Anthony Robinson II, Jayden Stone
On the season: Mark Mitchell 6, Jayden Stone 5, Anthony Robinson 4, Jacob Crews 2, Shawn Phillips 1
Credit to VMI for being creative in their approach in hopes to offset some roster differences, but they had nobody who could match up with Mark Mitchell. Not even close. Plus, the zone the Keydets were running focused on giving up the free throw line area. That works until you have someone like Mark who can catch and still attack the rim with superior athleticism.
I also think we’re seeing the beginnings of an Anthony Robinson breakout season. He’s capable, and if anything he needs to be more aggressive in hunting his own offense.
One thing it was nice to see was Sebastian Mack get a little more run. We’re still in the time of the year where Gates wants to play with the lineups, and Mack’s offensive production hasn’t yet hit the full mark. Mack’s outside shooting was a concern coming into the season, and he’s 0-6 so far. But what you did know is he’s a more than capable defender, and he’s good in the open floor, and attacking the rim. His FG% is up despite the shooting struggles, meaning he’s taking more shots at the rim and settling for floaters and jumpers with less frequency.
But there’s not too much you can nitpick about this game. Missouri was pretty great offensively despite not shooting the ball all that well. They made two of their last three 3FGAs to make the percentage a bit more respectable, but they did what they hadn’t yet done this season… they put the opponent away.
The season is still early. Missouri has yet to play with a full lineup. So there’s still a lot to learn.
The first power conference test awaits them. I’m hopeful we’ll be able to see a few more players in the rotation soon enough. Maybe not in time for Minnesota, but the Tigers could use an extra set of hands.
