Chat Mizzou sports with Dave Matter at 11 a.m. Thursday
Bring your Tigers football, basketball and recruiting questions, and talk to Mizzou beat writer Dave Matter in a live chat at 11 a.m. Thursday.
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The announcers on the MU-Oregon telecast repeatedly said MU ranked 327th of D1 BB teams in 3 pt percentage of 29.7%. Looking at last night’s box score MU shot 9 of 31which is even lower at 29%. Is their strategy to put up as many 3 pointers as they can and see what happens. I have confidence in Mark Smith and Pinson shooting 3 pointers. Since last year’s team was in the top 15 in FT%, wouldn’t it be smarter to drive to the basket, taking a higher percentage shot and maybe getting a possible 3 point play or at worst 2 FTs? It worked out ok last night, but I would prefer not to just make their game a 3 pt shooting contest.
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They got a little over-indulgent from the arc in the first half, but it was OK at the time because (1) they were crashing the boards and creating second chances and (2) Oregon was a mess offensively and giving Mizzou extra possessions with turnovers. In the second half, Mizzou stopped settling for so many 3s and did a nice job getting in the paint and getting to the foul line. Dru Smith can make 3s. He was off last night. I wouldn't mind him taking those shots as long as they're within the rhythm of the offense. One thing Martin doesn't like is a bunch of pull-up 3s. He wants smarter 3s this year. I don't recall thinking a lot of last night's shots were poor decisions. Some were at the shot clock buzzer because either MU was being too patient or Oregon was playing solid halfcourt defense.
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Let's not forget, Mizzou beat No. 11 Auburn last year. Last year's Illinois win was huge - because the Illini became a damn good team by February/March. The Kentucky win in 2018 was a huge win. Last night was the best nonconference non-Braggin' Rights Game win since beating UCLA in 2013, the day of Auburn SEC championship game.
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It's easy to sense more charisma from the head coach. It's just his natural disposition and that can be infectious. His staff is, by design, more energetic, more positive, more charismatic.Drinkwitz is doing some other subtle things around the program to create more excitement internally. (Look for a story on that soon.)But I think the biggest difference is he's got a plan on offense. It's an offensive game right now - especially in the SEC. When the head coach has offensive DNA in his coaching genes and he's got a vision for what this offense is going to look like and can adjust to both his personnel and his opponent, then you've got a chance to win big in 2020.
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Any chance Missouri will put the BB benches and coaches back within TV camera viewing angle (on the other side of the floor) at Mizzou arena in this Covid season? The Omaha game was more entertaining to watch than the Oral Roberts game because you could see the coaches working and the benches reacting.
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What are your thoughts on the CFP? Should there be a minimum # of games required. it seems difficult to choose Ohio State if they don't have enough wins to play for a conference title. It would also be a disservice to a 1-loss team with 8 or 9 games under their belt.
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Playing games and winning games should matter. I don't care how good Ohio State looks on the field; if the Buckeyes only play four or five games, then they shouldn't get into the playoff over teams like Florida or Texas A&M or Cincinnati that are winning nine or 10 games. Otherwise, just decide the playoff on the top four teams in Phil Steele's preseason magazine every year. It's a shame for every playoff contender when they have to miss games, but in this unusual year, shouldn't we measure who are the best teams based on who's able to play (and win) more games? It's one thing if you can only play eight games compared to everyone else's 10. But seven? Six? Five? Sorry, but I don't think that's enough. And if BYU wins decisively over Coastal Carolina on Saturday, the Cougars should be in the discussion - and much, much higher than No. 13 in the standings. BYU passes the eye test.
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He doesn't suffer fools. You better have a good question prepared or he'll zing you. I don't have any personal problems with him - and he consistently gives me good answers. He's not unlike most coaches where I think you have to earn some respect with him before you get great answers. But I know I'm always one lame question away from getting zinged on Zoom. But I like covering him. He's smart. He's funny. He'll challenge your question if he doesn't think it's very good. He actually listens to what you're asking. That doesn't mean he's going to answer it the way you want him to, but I'd rather cover someone who's interesting and edgy than someone who's boring.
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Mizzou will be in the mix for the SEC group of six:Music City (Nashville)Duke Mayo (Charlotte)Texas (Houston)Liberty (Memphis)Outback (Tampa)Gator (Jacksonville)So much depends on how many SEC teams get into the playoffs and the Jan. 1 non-playoff bowls and then who plays in the Citrus Bowl. There's not supposed to be a pecking order when it comes to the SEC group of six, but the Outback and Gator are generally considered the best of those six. Those could be destinations for Mizzou if MU finishes strong.The Las Vegas Bowl will eventually rotate with the Mayo Bowl in the SEC rotation every year, but the Vegas Bowl won't happen this year.
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It was great to see the basketball Tigers pick up a quality win last night away from their home court. Experience and veteran leadership make a big difference when a team plays a road game. A win over Oregon should impress the NCAA tournament selection committee. What other non-conference games do you think it is especially important to win to boost Mizzou's strength-of-schedule resume come tournament time?
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Well, the Illinois game would be a huge pelt on the Tigers' wall. Even if you lose that game it's a valuable piece for the credentials. Losses to great teams are just as valuable - if not more - than wins over bad teams. Otherwise, MU doesn't have another game against a high-major team. They'll want to sweep the rest, including Sunday's at Wichita State.
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I know this is not politically correct, but I thought the participation of the young woman in the Vandy game was a bit contrived, or even staged. She basically kicked the ball and ran off the field and everyone strikes up the band. I am all for being inclusive, but there are some things that women can do that men can’t and men can do that women cannot. One of them is playing tackle football.
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Don't forget Jimbo Fisher.As I wrote earlier this week, I'd call Sunday's matchup an elimination game for SEC coach of the year. If Arkansas loses, they're going to finish 3-7. (Remember, the Hogs still play Alabama.) Pittman has been great. Arkansas is competitive again. They believe they can win games for the first time in several years. But I don't think you can win coach of the year for going 3-7. Can Drinkwitz win the award by going 6-4? I'm not certain. I'd consider voting for him but I can't say for sure. But if he goes 7-3 with a win over Georgia? Then maybe he's the favorite or co-favorite with Mullen.
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Is the women’s BB program taking COVID seriously? The recent SECOND shut down was alarming. I know Pingeton runs a faith-based, seemingly near evangelical program, and evangelicals are one of the most mask-resistant and science illiterate segments of the population. Seems like they would have been hyper diligent after the first shut down. It also seems like it would be easier to control a BB program than a football program, because if the much larger number of people in a football program.
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I'm not sure what religion has to do with it, but the Mizzou women's team said it had one positive case this week, which led to the cancelation of games. I'm not sure one positive case indicates the team isn't taking the virus seriously. You can take the virus seriously and still have a positive case within your program.It might be easier for a basketball program to control its COVID numbers, but a basketball team is much, much more likely to be shut down by a positive case because contact tracing can wipe out your entire team, as opposed to just pockets of a football team.
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Butch Jones, Bret Bielema, Derek Mason,Others have been fired shortly before (Jim McElwain, Les Miles, Muschamp at USC) or a few weeks after playing Mizzou (Derek Dooley, Muschamp at Florida).I don't think it's a sign of disrespect, especially in Vandy's case. Sometimes it's just a matter of a team playing terribly at the end of the year when most coaching changes take place. Mizzou should embrace its grim reaper role, not be offended by it.
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