A revenge tour update, it’s not always that you win but sometimes a little on how you win.
As Missouri walked into the locker room at halftime in Athens, they had two points wiped off the board after a goaltending call was taken away leaving them with a 3 point deficit. They also gave away a point on an Administrative error to begin the game when they entered the incorrect starting lineup.
After 20 minutes of play Missouri looked like the better team but their effort defensively was lackluster, and facing a team who is in desperate need of a win it had all the makings of a game where you’re feeling nervous down the stretch. They weren’t shooting the ball well, the defense was a little all over the place, and again… Georgia really really really needed to win the game.
But when the REVENGE TOUR™ calls for you, things can change in a heart beat. Mizzou went from down 47-46 to up 73-54 in basically two frames, or eight minutes of the second half. That’s a 20 point swing.
They went on the road against a team who’s beaten Kentucky in their building, nearly beat Auburn, had a chance to beat Mississippi State all in Stegeman Coliseum. They took down St. John’s and were competitive against a top 20 Marquette squad. Georgia isn’t a bad basketball team, they’re a team with a few flaws who is getting ground into dust a bit in the best league in America. Put them in the ACC or even Big 12 and they’re probably safely in the 9 seed territory.
I’m not trying to build Stegeman Coliseum as some kind of fortress, but winning on the road is hard for pretty much everyone. Two years ago Missouri went to Athens and won by 18 points, in Mike Whites first season. But that team was 154th in KenPom. Mizzou won by 13 against a very different Georgia team. Good and great teams make winning on the road look far easier than it really is.
Missouri’s win over Georgia comes after destroying a good but teetering Oklahoma team by 24 points earlier in the week in Columbia. And their 2-0 week comes on the heels of back to back losses against Tennessee and Texas A&M. In order to keep their focus on becoming the team they want to be, Missouri needed to go 2-0 and they went 2-0 in big fashion. It’s not easy to go from 23rd in KenPom to 15th at this point in the year, but that’s what they did by being 26 points better than the expected margin.
The win yesterday, thanks to the play in of the Tigers in the second half, was remarkable but it’s becoming more and more what this team is. Since January 1st they’ve played like the 6th best team in the country.
When I look at the rest of the SEC and see the Tigers sitting in 5th place at 8-4, I think Auburn is clearly the best team. And I think Missouri is in that next tier. Alabama, Florida, Tennessee and Texas A&M, maybe you can include a healthy Kentucky, and Missouri.
Missouri’s adjusted offensive efficiency per KenPom.com is up to 11th in the country. Their defense is up to 40th in the country as well. They’re about a point and a half per 100 possessions from being in the top 30.
Why does that matter?
Because nearly every NCAA champion has entered the NCAA tournament as a top 30 unit each offensively and defensively. The number of teams who have a top 30 offense and are also top 30 on defense is 13. But the number of teams who have as good of an offense and a better defense than Missouri is 6: Houston, Texas Tech, Florida, Duke, Auburn, Alabama.
What we’re talking about is a really, really good basketball team. You can look back at some missed opportunities, but what Mizzou should be focused on are the opportunities ahead of them. Specifically Wednesday.
Alabama comes to town.
I still think there are a lot of people around the country who still aren’t sure what to make of the Missouri Tigers. The win over Kansas was impressive, but KU has turned out to be good but not quite great. Mizzou lost to Memphis and Illinois, and didn’t play anyone of consequence in the rest of the non-conference schedule. Maybe if they’d split the games last week against Tennessee and Texas A&M the feeling is different, but they’re still hovering just outside the spotlight.
Somehow I think that’s ok with Dennis Gates. Let the revenge tour continue.
Other SEC Scores:
- (1) Auburn 94, (2) Alabama 85
- (3) Florida 88, South Carolina 67
- (5) Tennessee 81, Vanderbilt 76
- (8) Texas A&M 69, Arkansas 61
- Texas 82, (15) Kentucky 78
- (22) Mississippi State 81, (19) Ole Miss 71
- LSU 82, Oklahoma 79
SEC Standings:
- Auburn 11-1
- Alabama 10-2
- Florida 9-3
- Texas A&M 9-3
- Missouri 8-4
- Tennessee 8-5
- Ole Miss 8-5
- Kentucky 6-6
- Mississippi State 6-6
- Vanderbilt 5-7
- Texas 5-8
- Arkansas 4-8
- Georgia 4-9
- Oklahoma 3-9
- LSU 2-10
- South Carolina 0-12