The Issues at the Root of Mizzou Basketball's 12-Game Losing Streak
Mizzou men's basketball is yet to win a single game in 2024, and remains winless in Southeastern Conference play with just six chances remaining. The Tigers are 1-15 since Dec. 9.
To narrow down all of the reasons the team has struggled this season into a short, conscience list would be a nearly impossible task. Frankly, it seems that they stumble upon a new path to defeat every time they take the court. But at the root of the losing streak there seems to be three underlying factors holding the team back:
Unrealistic Expectations for Certain Players
In the 2022-'23 season, Kobe Brown was the guy Mizzou basketball. He held the intangible ability to completely turn a game around in a matter of a few short possessions. He was the main component of a winning formula for the 2022-'23 team. Kobe Brown could be the main scorer along with valuable offensive contributions from D'Moi Hodge and DeAndre Gholston. Noah Carter, Nick Honor and Sean East were all valuable role players.
Heading into the 2023-'24 season however, the team lost each of their top three leading scorers in Brown, Hodge and Gomillion, The trio of Carter, Honor and East were asked to step into a bigger role and lead the team. But 12 games through the SEC season, it seems like Carter and Honor might just be role players.
Although East has improved from last season and produced at a somewhat consistent level, Though the stats from this season show improvement for both Carter and Honor compared to last year, the numbers are deceiving.
Carter has been the more shaky player. His drives to the rim that he thrived on last season have been hard to come by this year and he has been prone to making costly mental errors. Against Ole Miss on Sunday, he picked up four fouls in the first four minutes of the second half.
Honor, mostly a three-point specialist last season, is shooting the three at 40 percent, the highest of his career. But he has not been making as much as an impact as coach Dennis Gates would prefer. Gates has said on multiple occasions that he wants Honor to have the confidence to shoot 10 three-point shots in each game. He's only averaged 5.7 attempts so far this season.
As much as Gates trusts his two veterans, maybe it's time to admit that both Carter and Honor are meant to simply be role players as they were last season.
Injuries
This is the obvious one. Gates, rightly has refused to let injuries be an excuse for the team's lack of success. But they do add important context.
Most notably, the team has been without Iowa State transfer Caleb Grill since early Dec. due to a wrist injury. Grill was averaging 22 minutes through the nine games he was available for. In addition to his aggressive defensive play and lethal three-point shot, the Tigers seem to be lacking the grit and tenacity he brought to the court.
The injury bug first began its rounds after junior guard Kaleb Brown suffered a stress reaction in his left shin, causing him to miss the remainder of the season after playing in the team's first two games. Gates often praised Brown, calling him the team's most improved player over the offseason on multiple occasions.
Injuries have also caused Jesus Carralero Martin, Trent Pierce and East to miss multiple games each. Colorado State transfer John Tonje suffered a foot injury in the offseason that he played through until the Jan. 13 loss to South Carolina before it was announced that he would miss the remainder of the season.
Following a loss to Texas A&M on Feb. 7, Gates was more blunt on the strain injuries were placing on the team.
"It's almost like we have to play perfect basketball, especially with our injuries," Gates said. "Our margin of error is very slim because of those situations we're in and it puts a lot of pressure on the defensive side and offensive side to be able to come away with wins."
Inconsistent Play
The Tigers have been consistently inconsistent. From week to week, game to game, minute to minute, there's been few constants outside of the final result. Injuries obviously do play a part in this. Fatigue has become an obvious factor for players. But there's very few things this team can rely on in each game besides Jackson Francois being an animated supporter on the bench.
"We don't know going into the game, what stats we can really count on and what department we can get it from," Gates said after a loss to Arkansas on Jan. 31. "So it's sort of like on the sideline, you're trying to figure out what you want, which guys are ready to play ready to produce at that moment."
Center Conor Vanover's recent performance can be used to represent the inconsistencies in production for multiple players. The Oral Roberts transfer has been one of the most inconsistent players for Missouri this season. Against South Carolina on Jan. 31, Vanover made worth of his 18 minutes by grabbing seven rebounds. He followed it up with four rebounds in 14 minutes against Arkansas. But in his three appearances since then, he's only had one rebound total and, as a result, has seen a decrease in playing time.
The team as a whole has struggled to even sustain consistent play through 40 minutes. They work in runs but never seem to be able to put together enough before appearing gassed or being outworked by their opponent.
Against Ole Miss on Saturday, the Tigers went on a 15-to-2 run midway through the first half that gave them their first lead of the game. Missouri also only gave up two turnovers in the half and did not allow Ole Miss to make a single trip to the free-throw line. In the second half, however, Missouri allowed Ole Miss to go on scoring runs of five, nine, and eight points unanswered. The Tigers also gave up six turnovers and allowed Ole Miss to take 30 shots from the free-throw line.
This Mizzou team in each game and on each possession, in the worst way, is like a unpredictable box of chocolates. The Tigers will have to replace those common rotten moments with more of the positive flashes that they've shown in order to come away with a single win in conference play this season.
