Clash Of The Tigers: 3 Keys To Missouri's Basketball's Early-Season Matchup with Memphis
The expectations for this Missouri basketball team, which won a March Madness game just a year ago, are high. Not just from the fans, though.
Head coach Dennis Gates talks about the Tigers having a chance to be a contender on the highest stages of basketball, not being satisfied with appearance banners in the rafters.
"Everything we do is for [making the final four], it's not for stats, it's not for anything else" said Gates when talking about his outlook for the upcoming season ahead.
Missouri is going to face a long road to reach the destinations set by Gates and this team, and the first true battle comes Friday night against a stout Memphis roster.
Here are three keys to the game that must take place if Mizzou wants to take another step down their road to Final Four ambitions on Friday.
It Starts On The Clipboard
Memphis head coach and former NBA great Anfernee "Penny" Hardaway will be missing from the Memphis bench on Friday, serving the second of his three game suspension for recruiting violations.
Hardaway took over a Memphis squad that went just 21-13 the year before he was introduced as the head coach. Since then we have seen a revival of college basketball in Memphis, coming off back-to-back March Madness appearances and an American Conference title last year.
If Mizzou truly wants a chance at a special season it has to start on the clipboard with Gates, who himself has rejuvenated a once directionless Missouri basketball program.
Rick Stansbury will be the fill-in for Memphis during Hardaway's absence. Racking up a total of 432 wins as a head coach in 14 years with Western Kentucky and Mississippi State, there is going to be strong leadership and experience on the Memphis bench regardless of suspension.
What Missouri must capitalize on though, is the sudden change after Memphis has been coached by Hardaway all year. It's never easy missing someone as important as your head coach in any game, much less against a team receiving AP Top 25 poll votes.
Missouri needs to find the edge in the coaching battle to come out of this one on top.
When Did He Get Here?
Missouri will face off against some familiar faces in different colors on Friday night.
From the eight players who Memphis brought in by utilizing the transfer portal, two stand out as players that Missouri has seen before: Jaykwon Walton and Jahvon Quinerly.
Missouri faced Walton and Wichita State early in the season, and the Tigers edged out an overtime victory. Walton picked up a 14-point and 10-rebound double-double in the contest, as he shot 50 percent from both the floor and behind the arc while leading the Shockers.
Quinerly and Alabama rolled into Mizzou Arena to face the Tigers in late January. Not only did Mizzou fall in a blowout loss, but allowed Quinerly to put up 13 points on 50 percent shooting from the field, including three 3-pointers.
Missouri got another chance at Quinerly and the Crimson Tide in the SEC Tournament. Despite taking another loss, Quinerly was held in check, going 0-for-9 from the floor and only had a single point in 31 minutes of action.
Even with both players in new colors and systems, Mizzou will need to see more of the second Quinerly game, as well as finding ways to neutralize Walton, who was Memphis' top scorer in its opener against Jacksonville State earlier this week.
Live By The 3, Die By The 3
There was no doubt coming into this season that Missouri likes to shoot from behind the arc. It was in the top 30 in the country last year for shots behind the arc, and there's has been no signs of slowing down.
Missouri and Arkansas-Pine Bluff put up an astounding 59 total shots from 3-point range on Monday, and the Tigers shot 40 percent from behind the arc in their home opener, an extremely respectable figure for a team that shoots as much from beyond the arc. That showed on the scoreboard as Missouri put up over 100 points on the Golden Lions.
The issues for this Missouri squad won't fall on the offensive side of shooting the ball, but what the Tigers must be able to do is close out effectively and create hard shots against good shooting teams. Memphis is a team that likes to stretch the floor and shoot the basketball.
Taking 28 attempts last game, it starts at the top with Walton and works its way through the rotation. He was 3-for-4 in his opener. The only player in the game to make more 3-pointers in the game was 6-6 senior forward David Jones. He launched seven attempts, with four of them finding the bottom of the net. His ability to stretch the floor and shoot efficiently, paired with great shooting from the guard position could allow Memphis to get hot and burn Missouri, or any other opponent.
Shooting a similar split to Missouri, Memphis hit 11 of its 28 attempted 3s.
If Missouri can find ways to close out on shooters and keep Memphis from controlling the game on the outside, the home team will find itself in a much more manageable and winnable game.
