What happened?I guess there was a silver lining in Missouri's lackluster 75-59 loss in St. Louis to Illinois last night. At some point during the first-half implosion, I actually ripped the headphones off my ears and threw them down on my desk in disgust. Things must be getting better for Mike Anderson's Tigers because for the last three years, I haven't been able to get emotionally invested enough in the Tigers to actually get pissed off.
Other than that, there wasn't much positive to take from Mizzou's ninth straight loss to the Illini. This was really a discouraging game. In pragmatic terms, it's just one loss. MU is still 9-2. The Tigers are still ranked No. 25, at least until the next poll comes out on Monday. In the computerized power rankings, like Sagarin's, the ranking is still solid. (No. 25 after the loss, whereas Illinois jumps up to No. 13.) Plus, Illinois may actually be a pretty good team. They're now 11-1 with the only loss a close one on the road against Clemson.
Just as a sidenote, I just have to point out that I really don't like Illinois -- the school, not the state -- so it's particularly grating to me to have a nine-game losing streak against that school. I've only been to Champaign once, when I was in college. For the life of me, I can't fathom why any big-time athlete would rather go to school there than in a great place like Columbia. All I remember about Champaign is that it's really flat, the girls were reluctant to swill the large amounts of alcohol I was trying to get them to ingest and the campus police got mad when one of my traveling companions threw a smoke bomb in front of the school library. Why would a nice guy like Deron Williams rather play at a place like that instead of at good, old Mizzou? It just doesn't make sense.
Anyway, there would have been much upside for the Tigers with a victory. A higher ranking. Some positive national attention. An excellent data point on an eventual NCAA tournament resume. A jolt to the fan base. The proverbial snapping of the aforementioned streak. A very, merry Tiger Christmas for the alumni. You'd think that the Tigers would have been tuned in and turned on to play Santa for MU faithful. Instead, all we got was a steaming lump of coal and not-funny suggestions that one of the great non-con rivalries in college hoops be discontinued.
The worst of it is that it's a month before there is another game on the docket before the Tigers have chance to gain a victory that would make us feel anywhere close to as good as we would have felt had last night not gone so wrong. There are a couple of road opportunities -- against mediocre teams in Georgia and Nebraska -- that would illicit more relief than glee. For the most part, there is nothing but downside in the next seven games. I suppose that's why I got so irritated during last night's loss, but, you know what? It's good to care.
THE TEAMS
CAT | MIZ | ILL |
| OFFe | 91.5 | 116.3 |
| eFG | 38.7% | 63.7% |
| OREB% | 29% | 33% |
| TO% | 19% | 26% |
| FTM/FGA | .177 | .196 |
| AST% | 48% | 76% |
| Game pace: 64 | ||
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Nothing to like here at all. The Illini slathered the Tigers with a thorough beatdown. Watching the game, I thought the bulk of the problems stemmed from the stagnant offense and cold shooting, which made it hard to to set up the press which was actually effective for the most part. However, looking at the numbers, it's obvious that it was a complete meltdown by MU at both ends of the floor. Yes, the defense forced a few turnovers when it was able to get set, but against good competition, you're not going to get turnovers on every possession. When the press is broken, you have to recover and scramble to defend the open shooters. That 63.7 effective field-goal percentage against is a monstrous number, a combination of hot shooting and lack of defensive discipline. The pace of the game -- 64 possessions -- played into Illinois' hands. Illinois point guard Chester Frazier only took one shot the entire game but still was an impact player on the floor by constantly making good decisions about when to push the ball down the court and when to pull it back out and set up a halfcourt offense that dissected the Tigers all night long. Assist percentage is often more descriptive than impactful, but it's important in this case. In my last post, I noted how Missouri had done a superb job of playing the passing lanes against weaker competition, allowing assists on fewer than half of opponents' made field goals. Last night, Illinois had 22 assists on 29 field-goals made.
THE PLAYERS
Missouri gRATEs | Illinois gRATEs | ||
| Tiller, J.T. | -0.3 | Frazier,Chester | +0.5 |
| Taylor, Zaire | -3.9 | McCamey,Demetri | +6.8 |
| Lawrence, Matt | -5.9 | Meacham,Trent | +8.3 |
| Lyons, Leo | +3.0 | Davis,Mike | -2.2 |
| Carroll, Demarre | -5.0 | Tisdale,Mike | +4.7 |
| Paul, Miguel | +0.1 | Legion,Alex | -0.6 |
| Denmon, Marcus | -0.4 | Brock,Calvin | -1.0 |
| English, Kim | -1.3 | Keller,Dominique | +0.8 |
| Bowers, Laurence | -0.1 | Semrau,Richard | -1.1 |
| Ramsey, Keith | +1.4 | Cole,Bill | -0.8 |
| Safford, Justin | -3.6 | Chisholm,Bubba | +0.1 |
| -- | -- | Jordan,Jeff | +0.2 |
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Can we please agree that at this point, Matt Lawrence is at best a three-point specialist? He should come off the bench, whether or not he's a senior. If he's shooting well, he stays in. If not, he doesn't. (If this sounds like a harsh appraisal, let me share with you that when I played, I was EXACTLY the same kind of player. I guess you could say that it takes one to know one.) Illinois utilized a defensive scheme that played off of Zaire Taylor, much as I suggested would happen if Taylor didn't prove himself as a scoring threat. Taylor did hit 5-of-8 from the floor, but he took four three-point shots, something he should never do. Worse, there was little else positive in Taylor's line. Even with his scoring problems through the first 10 games, he generally chips in with a solid floor game. Not last night. It should also be noted that while it's tough to assign individual responsibility with Mizzou's defensive scheme, Taylor and Lawrence -- who have emerged as my early favorites for UFR Whipping Boy of the Year -- get tagged with the big games from Demetri McCamey and Trent Meacham. Those two entered the game as the only two legitimate outside threats on the Illinois roster so their shooting prowess should have come as no surprise to Mike Anderson. I realize that he has a system, but sometimes you have actually react to what's happening on the floor. Overall, the Taylor/Lawrence vs. McCamey/Meacham matchups resulted in a plus-25.9 points figure for Illinois. Folks, that's your ballgame./