Missouri Men's Basketball: Three Takeaways from the Tigers Dreadful Loss to Memphis
COLUMBIA, Mo. — To put it simply, Friday was not Missouri's night.
In a 70-55 loss to the Memphis Tigers, Missouri basketball produced one of its worst shooting performances in recent memory, finish 18-of-56 from the field and 6-of-28 from 3-point range.
It was a game that sucked all of the energy from a sold-out Mizzou Arena crowd, failing to compete with a Memphis team also coming off a March Madness bid last season. The opposing Tigers were led by Jahvon Quinerly – who visited Columbia as part of the Alabama Crimson Tide last season – scoring an efficient 18 points.
Here are three takeaways from the Tigers' tough night.
Noah Carter handles the ball at the top of the key against Memphis on Friday, Nov. 10 at Mizzou Arena.
Amber Winkler
Missouri Will Still Live by the 3-pointer
Heading into this season, everyone knew Dennis Gates and the Missouri program would continue to emphasize the 3-point shot. It's partly what made last season's roster so successful, and has created an identity for a program that lacked one for several seasons.
It's obviously frustrating for the Missouri fanbase, and the players themselves, to deal with such an off shooting night. At times, it seemed like long range attempts were even forced when players had the opportunity to drive to the basket for an easier shot.
However, the priority of the 3-point shot is not going away anytime soon.
Following the loss, "Keep shooting," Gates said. "I've seen these shots, the same shots going in consistently. So do you want to change your entire style of play? No."
The Tigers aren't going to quit shooting from deep, and they likely won't shoot that poorly for most of the year. We know what the offensive system that Gates runs has the ability to do, but it will take time for the new additions to the program to flourish in that system. It's only game two, and Memphis is a more than admirable opponent early on in the season.
Who Will Take Over When the Going Gets Rough?
The Tigers had the luxury of Kobe Brown and D'Moi Hodge in crunch time last season, one of the SEC's most dominant duos and now NBA talent.
It's an unbelievably difficult hole to fill in one offseason, and while Missouri did well in the transfer portal, the question on who fits into that hole will continue to be a lingering one.
The veterans of the program – Sean East II, Nick Honor and Noah Carter – have played well in their first two games, showing they can be leaders of the team going forward. However, it's unclear if any have what it takes to be a Kobe Brown or D'Moi Hodge.
East has scored a combined 35 points so far this season, but an absent second half during a time Missouri really needed someone to step up creates a bit of a question mark for the graduate student.
Like 3-point shooting, it's something that will take time to discover as the season goes on for the new additions. A player like Tamar Bates, who scored 18 points in his first game, didn't get much of an opportunity to expand on his performance.
There's plenty of time before SEC play begins, but having this question answered before then will be important.
Rebounding Remains an Issue, but the Solution May Come Soon
One of Missouri's biggest problems last year was rebounding, due to the lack of size and length the team had in the inside. It cost the Tigers important games, and was a point of emphasis that Gates consistently pointed out to his roster.
Against Memphis, Missouri was out-rebounded 47 to 33. While some of that statistic can be attributed to the Tigers missing far more shots, they were also out-rebounded 11 to five on the offensive glass.
Six-foot-three guard Caleb Grill even led the team in rebounds with ten, a fact that Gates deemed unacceptable.
"Caleb Grill [had] 10 rebounds from a guard spot. We can't have that," Gates said. "We cannot have a guard lead us in rebounds."
Luckily for the Tigers, they will have the 7-foot-5 center Connor Vanover unsuspended and ready to play against Minnesota next week. With his unreal size and length, rebounding is going to be a much easier issue to overcome.
