Against Drake, Mizzou Will Look to 'Dictate' Offensive Pace

WICHITA, Kan. — The Missouri Tigers are looking to be the enforcers of their style of play Thursday night, not the subject of Drake's drawn out offense.

Missouri has built its identity in all three years under head coach Dennis Gates on a high-pace offense, racing opponents in the half court.

Drake on the other hand, has what head coach Ben McCollum prefers to call a "patient," not "slow" offense.

"It's not that we try to slow it down," McCollum said in a press conference Wednesday. "It's that it is difficult for us to get a shot because of the athleticism on the other side of the ball."

Intentional or not, Drake would prefer to act as quicksand to Missouri's half-court speed. The Bulldogs went 30-3 in the regular season all the while averaging 70.1 points per game.

Missouri on the other hand, has thrived in high-scoring shootouts, winning 110-98 over No. 4 Alabama after scoring 59 in the first half alone. Or by taking down No. 5 Florida in a 83-82 victory, propelled by 30-17 start for the Tigers.

But the Tigers are looking to control the narrative for their first round game of the NCAA Tournament on Thursday night.

"We're going to still try to play fast," Missouri guard Anthony Robinson said to MissouriOnSI on Wednesday. "We're not gonna let your offense dictate how we're gonna play offense."

The Tigers will look to avoid being sucked into a slower game by establishing the pace early.

"We don't waver to what any other team wants us to do," Missouri center Josh Gray said. "We have to dictate the pace of the game. We have to throw the first punch."

The importance of a quick start for Missouri's ideal playing speed was evident when the Tigers fell to a 12-0 deficit in the opening six minutes of a loss to Texas A&M. The Aggies were able to make the game a low-scoring dogfight from there instead of a chase for the Tigers. The 67-64 loss was Missouri's second-lowest performance of Southeastern Conference play.

Drake has found success not only by draining the shot clock, but then compounding that with efficiency when shooting with five or less seconds left on the shot clock. Against a diverse, unpredictable defense like Missouri's, the challenge of finding that open space as time expires could become more difficult.

"They run quite a few defenses," McCollum said of Missouri. "You kind of just have to take what they give you. If it's five seconds in, and you need to shoot it. If it's 25 seconds in, then shoot it."

Drake's Bennett Stirtz (14) drives past his defender on Monday, Nov. 4, 2024, at the Knapp Center. | Cody Scanlan/The Register / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Missouri's defense will also look to take advantage of the lack of height for Drake. Sophomore forward Cam Manyawu 6-foot-8 mark is the tallest on the team.

The size matchup is something Missouri could look to expose, with six active contributors sitting at or above 6-foot-8.

"We noticed that they're like a little undersized team," 7-foot center Payton Marshall said. "But they do have a good record, so you can't take no team for granted, especially a team that made it to where we are today."

Even with the lack of height, Drake has found different ways to defend. The Bulldogs' average of 58.4 points allowed per game is the lowest in the nation.

"We're just ready for the different schemes, different defenses that they might throw at us even though they might be a little smaller in stature," 6-foot-9 forward Mark Mitchell said.

No matter what look or pace Drake tries to put on Missouri, the Tigers will look to stick to the identity that has brought them to this point.

"We can't really try to change too much on how you play against teams, because that kind of messes you up," guard Tony Perkins said. "Just playing how we play, trying to get stops, just stick to what we usually do."

Missouri will take on Drake in Round 1 of the NCAA Tournament on Thursday in Wichita. Tip off is set for 6:35 p.m. on TruTV.

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