You've got to enjoy a lethargic, unimpressive ... 29-point win. That was Mizzou's last freebie, so hopefully the realize they are allowed no more funks for the next two months.
Mizzou 74, Savannah State 45
| Mizzou |
SSU | |
| Points Per Minute |
1.85 | 1.13 |
| Points Per Possession (PPP) |
1.08 | 0.66 |
| Points Per Shot (PPS) |
1.30 | 0.82 |
| 2-PT FG% | 56.1% | 32.6% |
| 3-PT FG% | 25.0% | 33.3% |
| FT% | 64.0% | 43.5% |
| True Shooting % | 54.4% | 37.6% |
| Mizzou | SSU | |
| Assists | 13 | 9 |
| Steals | 15 | 8 |
| Turnovers | 12 | 25 |
|
Ball Control Index (BCI) (Assists + Steals) / TO |
2.33 | 0.68 |
| Mizzou | SSU | |
| Expected Offensive Rebounds | 12 | 14 |
| Offensive Rebounds | 11 | 16 |
| Difference | -1 | +2 |
Let's not think too much about this one, shall we?
First half: total lethargy. Mizzou gets outworked and leads by only three at halftime.
Second half: Mizzou turns it on, the end.
Player stats after the jump.
Player Stats
| Player | AdjGS* | GmSc/Min | Line |
| J.T. Tiller | 12.6 | 0.52 | 24 Min, 9 Pts (3-for-6 FG), 4 Stl, 2 Ast |
| Justin Safford | 11.5 | 0.55 | 21 Min, 12 Pts (5-for-8 FG), 6 Reb (2 Off), 2 Blk, 2 TO |
| Keith Ramsey | 10.0 | 0.37 | 27 Min, 3 Pts (1-for-3 FG), 6 Reb (5 Off), 3 Ast, 2 Stl, 2 Blk |
| Mike Dixon | 9.7 | 0.46 | 21 Min, 10 Pts (4-for-6 FG, 0-for-2 3PT), 3 Stl, 2 TO |
| Kim English | 8.9 | 0.52 | 17 Min, 12 Pts (5-for-8 FG, 1-for-3 3PT), 2 Reb |
| Laurence Bowers | 8.2 | 0.37 | 22 Min, 7 Pts (2-for-4 FG), 5 Reb, 2 Ast, 2 Stl, 2 TO |
| Marcus Denmon | 8.1 | 0.37 | 22 Min, 12 Pts (5-for-12 FG, 2-for-6 3PT), 6 Reb |
| Miguel Paul | 3.1 | 0.18 | 17 Min, 5 Pts (1-for-4 FG), 2 Reb, 2 Ast |
| Tyler Stone | 1.1 | 1.11 | 1 Min |
| Zaire Taylor | 0.6 | 0.03 | 22 Min, 3 Pts (1-for-6 FG, 0-for-3 3PT), 2 Reb, 2 Stl, 2 TO |
| John Underwood | 0.0 | 0.00 | 1 Min |
| Jarrett Sutton | 0.0 | 0.00 | 1 Min |
| Steve Moore | -1.7 | -0.42 | 4 Min, 2 Reb, 2 TO, 2 PF |
* AdjGS = a take-off of the Game Score metric (definition here) accepted by a lot of basketball stat nerds. It takes points, assists, rebounds (offensive & defensive), steals, blocks, turnovers and fouls into account to determine an individual's "score" for a given game. The "adjustment" in Adjusted Game Score is simply matching the total game scores to the total points scored in the game, thereby redistributing the game's points scored to those who had the biggest impact on the game itself, instead of just how many balls a player put through a basket.
- This table shows where the game was won. J.T. Tiller and Keith Ramsey combined for just 12 points on nine shots, but their work on defense and on the glass gave Mizzou what they needed to pull away (7 rebounds, 5 assists, 6 steals, 2 blocks).
- Laurence Bowers and Zaire Taylor (i.e. the two people I said I wanted to see more offense from a while back): 10 shots in 44 minutes. Not impressed. But Party Starter picked it up against Georgia, so as long as he does it when it counts, I guess I'll look the other way.
- Marcus Denmon: thanks for being able to make a couple of 3's. You were almost the only one.
- Steve Moore: what the hell? Only two fouls in four minutes? That hurts your fouls-per-second rate!
Three Keys Revisited
From yesterday's preview.
Show Up
Mizzou did indeed show up. With 19 minutes left in the game. The first half was nothing but an effort failure, with SSU grabbing almost as many offensive rebounds as Mizzou had defensive rebounds. Once they started concentrating (with help from Marcus Denmon crashing the boards), they pulled away with ease. SSU was every bit as bad at shooting the ball as I mentioned yesterday, but they just wanted the ball more.
Rebound!
For the game, the numbers looked at least mediocre -- Mizzou was outrebounded (in terms of expected boards) by three, which is nothing unusual for this team. But the first half was miserable.
Pace
Despite SSU's best efforts, the game was played at an acceptable 69-possession rate. Mizzou's will eventually overcame SSU's effort, but it took a while.
Mizzou in Non-Conference Play
Here's a quick look at how Mizzou's final non-conference stats shake down.
| Mizzou |
SSU | |
| Points Per Minute |
2.09 | 1.54 |
| Points Per Possession (PPP) |
1.15 | 0.85 |
| Points Per Shot (PPS) |
1.31 | 1.10 |
| 2-PT FG% | 51.3% | 43.6% |
| 3-PT FG% | 40.1% | 27.0% |
| FT% | 72.1% | 69.7% |
| True Shooting % | 57.5% | 47.7% |
| Mizzou | SSU | |
| Assists/Gm | 18.1 | 10.3 |
| Steals/Gm | 13.1 | 6.1 |
| Turnovers/Gm | 13.7 | 22.0 |
|
Ball Control Index (BCI) (Assists + Steals) / TO |
2.27 | 0.75 |
| Mizzou | SSU | |
| Expected Offensive Rebounds | 191 | 196 |
| Offensive Rebounds | 196 | 203 |
| Difference | +5 | +7 |
| Player | AdjGS/Gm | GmSc/Min | Line |
| Laurence Bowers | 13.0 | 0.66 | 19.8 MPG, 10.8 PPG, 5.4 RPG, 1.5 BPG, 1.3 APG, 1.3 SPG |
| Kim English | 12.4 | 0.56 | 22.3 MPG, 15.9 PPG, 3.3 RPG, 1.9 SPG, 1.3 APG, 2.1 TOPG |
| Marcus Denmon | 9.4 | 0.48 | 19.5 MPG, 11.1 PPG, 3.5 RPG, 1.3 APG |
| Keith Ramsey | 9.3 | 0.37 | 25.3 MPG, 5.7 PPG, 6.1 RPG, 1.9 SPG, 1.7 APG, 1.3 BPG, 1.5 TOPG |
| Zaire Taylor | 8.8 | 0.36 | 24.5 MPG, 7.5 PPG, 2.7 APG, 2.2 SPG |
| J.T. Tiller | 8.6 | 0.38 | 22.3 MPG, 9.4 PPG, 3.3 APG, 2.3 RPG, 1.5 SPG, 2.1 TOPG |
| Mike Dixon | 8.5 | 0.44 | 19.3 MPG, 9.0 PPG, 2.7 APG, 1.3 RPG, 1.3 SPG |
| Justin Safford | 6.0 | 0.32 | 18.5 MPG, 7.5 PPG, 3.8 RPG, 1.3 APG, 1.5 TOPG |
| Miguel Paul | 4.6 | 0.30 | 15.4 MPG, 4.4 PPG, 2.6 APG |
| Tyler Stone | 2.1 | 0.52 | 4.1 MPG, 2.2 PPG |
| Steve Moore | 1.4 | 0.13 | 10.7 MPG, 1.5 PPG, 1.6 RPG |
| John Underwood | 0.7 | 0.15 | 4.4 MPG, 0.8 PPG, 1.9 RPG |
| Jarrett Sutton | 0.0 | 0.01 | 3.9 MPG, 1.1 PPG |
- The rebounding figures actually ended up looking alright, but after the K-State game we'll take another look at the stats against "real" teams -- the Georgia game helped Mizzou's numbers, but only so much.
- We've seen signs that J.T. Tiller is picking things up heading into conference play. Here's to hoping he maintains it ... and Zaire Taylor gets it back.
Summary
Not a whole lot of analysis here, I realize, but this game was what it was: an easy cupcake game that wasn't easy for about 21 minutes because of Mizzou's lack of interest. Power to SSU for fighting their guts out and almost stealing a halftime lead out of the deal, but Mizzou turned it on just in time and won comfortably. I do wish we wouldn't have waited as long to turn it on -- was hoping to see Stone and Underwood a bit more before conference play -- but oh well. KSU comes to town in less than 48 hours, and the season starts anew.