Mizzou Men's Basketball Falls to Georgia 75-68 in Game of Runs
The Missouri men's basketball team fell to Georgia 75-68 on Saturday in a game of runs by both teams.
The Tigers and Bulldogs couldn't have kicked the SEC opener with much more entertainment, as they traded buckets for the first seven minutes, which gave Georgia a 19-18 lead.
But seven minutes later, a pin drop could be heard in Mizzou Arena, as Georgia found itself up 35-18. Turnovers are typically the main factor in these runs, but that wasn't the case, as the Tigers' starters and bench couldn't hit a single shot while the Bulldogs' attempts constantly fell through the net.
Missouri guard Tamar Bates ended the absurd 16-0 stretch with a three-pointer, and that lit a spark in the Tigers huddle. Fellow starters Aidan Shaw, Sean East II and Noah Carter began to hit their shots and Nick Honor's late make from downtown helped Missouri climb all the way back to a 40-38 deficit—finishing the period on a 17-2 run. The starting five scored every point in the first 20 minutes with Carter leading the way with 11, including conversions on each of his three attempts from behind the arc.
In addition to their suddenly consistent shooting, the Tigers defense was also a major contributor to the run, as Georgia committed seven turnovers compared to Missouri's four. East led the team in steals with two.
Georgia often drove inside to begin the second half, which resulted in them going to the line several times, which quieted the crowd by a small fraction. The Tigers were able to stay in it by consistently hitting from all over the court, but two dunks by Shaw, including an alley-oop pass from Carter, put the fans right back up on their feet.
The Tigers' high-flying, stout defense and crowd support helped them finally regain the lead after East made a layup to go up 57-56 with 11:23 remaining.
From there, the game had the same feel as the opening 19-18 portion of the game, as both teams traded buckets making for some great late entertainment. But unfortunately, like that early part of the match, a run followed for Georgia that didn't give Mizzou enough time to come back.
The Bulldogs didn't put a single point on the board for nearly four minutes until Bates hit his second free throw attempt with 54 seconds remaining. By then, Georgia was up 72-66 and multiple trips to the line ended the game. Four of their players finished in double figures and were crucial in the late run.
When you look at the picture Georgia getting to the charity stripe so frequently was pivotal in the game's outcome. Missouri head coach Dennis Gates spoke about the importance of free throws during the postgame press conference.
“When a team shoots that hot, it negated itself over the course of the game," Gates said. "This won't be the first time, this won't be the last time. Being able to get to the free throw line at that point, not field goals, by being able to cut the game by disrupting fouls and cutting the clock, and scoring when the clock is stopped isvery important. We weren't able to do that. Getting to the foul line is the most important thing, especially when you're at home. I can see if we had 10 points in the paint, but we had 36 points in the paint to 22. We have to come away with foul shots. I think that that allows you to take the pressure off jump shots.”
On a positive note, East scored his 1,000th career point when the Tigers hit 68 with 30 seconds remaining.
