:format(webp)/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/53271753/usa_today_9879985.0.jpg)
Your Trifecta: Walton-Puryear-Geist.
Mizzou nearly won a game while getting 11 points on 3-for-14 shooting from Jordan Barnett and Terrence Phillips. I guess that’s something.
Alabama 57, Missouri 54
| Mizzou | Alabama | |
| Pace (No. of Possessions) | 59 | |
| Points Per Possession (PPP) | 0.92 | 0.97 |
| Points Per Shot (PPS) | 1.08 | 1.08 |
| 2-PT FG% | 41.9% | 42.4% |
| 3-PT FG% | 21.1% | 25.0% |
| FT% | 69.6% | 66.7% |
| True Shooting % | 44.9% | 45.8% |
| FTA/FGA | 46.0% | 39.6% |
| Mizzou | Alabama | |
| Assists | 6 | 7 |
| Steals | 7 | 5 |
| Turnovers | 9 | 11 |
|
Ball Control Index (BCI) (Assists + Steals) / TO |
1.44 | 1.09 |
| Mizzou | Alabama | |
| Expected Offensive Rebounds | 12.7 | 13.1 |
| Offensive Rebounds | 10 | 14 |
| Difference | -2.7 | +0.9 |
Guh. Mizzou split the shooting honors (both were equally bad), got to the line a bit more, and won the ball-handling battle. But Bama won the expected rebounding battle by 3.6 and got the two most important rebounds of the game — the horrible out-of-bounds call that led to a Bama 3 and the offensive rebound by Donta Hall with about 5 seconds left. Mizzou gets that call and that carom, and that might make the difference.
One other thing that might have helped: Making more than one shot from the field in the last 7:52. But Bama nearly let that one slide.
Mizzou Player Stats
| Player | AdjGS | GmSc/Min | Line |
| K.J. Walton | 17.4 | 0.58 | 30 Min, 12 Pts (3-6 FG, 1-1 3PT, 5-7 FT), 5 Reb (2 Off), 3 Ast, 2 Stl, 2 TO, 3 PF |
| Kevin Puryear | 11.8 | 0.34 | 35 Min, 11 Pts (4-11 FG, 0-2 3PT, 3-4 FT), 5 Reb (3 Off), 1 Stl, 1 Blk, 3 PF |
| Jordan Geist | 10.1 | 0.46 | 22 Min, 9 Pts (4-7 FG, 1-2 3PT), 2 Reb, 1 Ast, 1 PF |
| Jordan Barnett | 4.6 | 0.16 | 29 Min, 5 Pts (2-10 FG, 0-4 3PT, 1-2 FT), 12 Reb (2 Off), 1 Stl, 2 PF |
| Reed Nikko | 4.1 | 0.59 | 7 Min, 0 Pts (0-1 FG), 1 Reb, 1 Ast, 1 Stl, 2 Blk |
| Terrence Phillips | 1.5 | 0.07 | 22 Min, 6 Pts (1-4 FG, 0-1 3PT, 4-5 FT), 3 Reb, 1 Ast, 3 TO, 2 PF |
| Cullen VanLeer | 0.8 | 0.03 | 27 Min, 5 Pts (1-5 FG, 1-5 3PT, 2-2 FT), 2 Stl, 3 TO, 1 PF |
| Frankie Hughes | 0.2 | 0.01 | 13 Min, 4 Pts (1-4 FG, 1-4 3PT, 1-2 FT), 1 Reb, 1 TO, 1 PF |
| Russell Woods | 0.0 | 0.00 | 15 Min, 2 Pts (1-2 FG, 0-1 FT), 2 Reb (1 Off), 4 PF |
| Player | Usage% | Floor% | Touches/ Poss. |
%Pass | %Shoot | %Fouled | %T/O |
| K.J. Walton | 21% | 45% | 3.6 | 56% | 19% | 19% | 6% |
| Kevin Puryear | 21% | 37% | 1.4 | 0% | 76% | 24% | 0% |
| Jordan Geist | 18% | 57% | 2.0 | 46% | 54% | 0% | 0% |
| Jordan Barnett | 22% | 20% | 1.4 | 0% | 85% | 15% | 0% |
| Reed Nikko | 8% | 27% | 3.4 | 85% | 15% | 0% | 0% |
| Terrence Phillips | 24% | 29% | 2.7 | 34% | 23% | 25% | 17% |
| Cullen VanLeer | 19% | 19% | 1.2 | 0% | 51% | 18% | 31% |
| Frankie Hughes | 26% | 22% | 1.8 | 0% | 59% | 26% | 15% |
| Russell Woods | 9% | 38% | 0.7 | 0% | 70% | 30% | 0% |
I guess Jordan Barnett was due a bad game, especially since the Tide were the opponent.
- Barnett vs. Bama: 2 games, 28.5 MPG, 6 PPG (31% FG)
- Barnett vs. the rest of the SEC: 11 games, 28.4 MPG, 15.2 PPG (48% FG)
Alabama can play some damn defense, that’s for sure. The Tide are now 174th in Pomeroy’s offensive ratings and 18th on D. And they’ve figured out Barnett in a way that no team besides Florida can really boast.
In the end, this was a game defined by Mizzou’s stars struggling (Barnett and Phillips, plus Woods), but K.J. Walton was excellent — actually, he Barnett-like, with 12 points on 6 shots and a bunch of free throws — and the Tigers nearly pulled off the win anyway, in part because of a lack of negative contributions. Mizzou’s worst games have featured a few negative adjusted game scores. Obviously the Tigers needed more than they got from Woods (0.0), Cullen VanLeer (0.8), etc., but a lack of negative is a positive.
K.J. Walton’s last 6 games, by the way: 27.5 MPG, 11 PPG (44% 2PT, 43% 3PT, 61% FT), 5.5 RPG, 1.5 SPG, 1.2 APG. He still isn’t a great shooter, obviously, but he has responded quite well to getting the minutes he was deprived of in non-conference play.
The message, of course: You should always listen to fan clamoring. Ahem.
Your remaining KenPom win probabilities:
- 10% at Tennessee
- 7% vs. Kentucky
- 16% at Ole Miss
- 39% vs. Texas A&M
- 18% at Auburn
There’s about a 2-to-1 chance that Mizzou wins another game in that stretch. But the odds of more than one win are not high. And there’s basically a 62% chance that the road losing streak continues into next season. My “schedule a season opener at Longwood next year” idea is a good one, I say.