Mizzou opened the season with a fun, but somewhat routine, win over the visiting Arkansas Pine-Bluff Golden Lions on Monday night. It was great to see the new Tiger team take the stage and showcase their products to the audience. However, like a year ago, the result was not dramatic. We could be grateful for that, right?
Last season, Mizzou had a lot of these contests to usher in the Dennis Gates era. The team was eight games into the schedule before facing a top 100 team. It was only after 10 games that they faced an opponent who would push for an at-large qualification for the end of the season in March.
We don’t have to wait that long this season, and I’m very grateful for that.
Mizzou will host the visiting Memphis Tigers on Friday night. This competition will kick off a busy weekend of important sporting competitions in Colombia between Show-Me and the Volunteers. Mizzou basketball will host the west side, Mizzou football the east side.
Tigers of a Different Hue have a somewhat colorful history with each other. If Penny Hardaway hadn’t been suspended for NCAA recruiting violations, he would be returning to Mizzou where his Memphis team beat Norm’s Tigers in Columbia in 1993. And speaking of NCAA violations, Mizzou also scored a pretty impressive victory against John Calipari’s Memphis team. in the Sweet 16 in 2009.
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However, the “real” season begins Friday when the current iterations of these two programs meet. With only one match under their belt by each team, we are left with little data and short film to really analyze where the match will be determined. Regardless, the following topics are ones I will be watching closely.
Both teams have experience; Who will possess cohesion
Both Mizzou and Memphis have very experienced rosters. In the first game, Mizzou started five super seniors, that is, players who have played more than 5 years of college basketball. Memphis countered with two of those super seniors and three ordinary fourth-year players. The experience will explode. Both teams have benches with comparable levels of experience on the field.
Yet with experience does not necessarily come cohesion. At least not right away. Mizzou’s roster includes four players who spent significant time in the program a year ago: Nick Honor, Sean East II, Aidan Shaw and Noah Carter. Memphis comparatively only has two players – Malcom Dandridge and Jayden Hardaway – among their starting eleven who have done so in their program. On top of that, the Blue Tigers will be without their head coach and will be led by Rick Stansbury – yes, THAT Rick Stansbury – who arrived this offseason from Western Kentucky.
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Mizzou should have the benefit of an intact coaching staff, a roster with more continuity and a raucous home crowd. Whether it will play out this way remains to be seen. The importance of this is not small. Memphis and Mizzou were both elite a year ago in the turnover production game. Mizzou was more successful offensively in protecting the ball, but Memphis imported former Alabama point man Jahvon Quinerly to help steady the ship.
Can Mizzou rekindle the turnover magic that proved so vital a year ago? Will Memphis rise to the occasion despite its challenges? This will definitely be an important thing to watch.
A contrast in the composition of the programming
For better or worse, Mizzou will, in all likelihood, look a lot like its 22-23 version. Connor Vanover, the 7’5″ transfer from Oral Roberts, will be on the bench for their appearance in the Portsmouth Invitational Tournament last spring. John Tonje, while not vertically overwhelming, is a well-built winger 6’5″ who thrived against physical opponents. Tonje missed the first game with what appears to be a lingering foot injury and his availability is certainly a question mark. The remaining roster includes what we’ve become accustomed to thus far in the Dennis Gates era: lots of perimeter players and mid-sized players on the court.
Memphis, by comparison, is big. And a long time. And athletic. Even though it’s early in the season, they rank among the top 25-30 teams in terms of average roster height. Memphis’ best players on Monday were:
- Jaykown Walton — 6’7” | 210
- David Jones — 6’6” | 210
- Caleb Mills — 6’5” | 185
- Jordan Brown – 6’11” | 225
- Malcolm Dandridge — 6’9” | 260
- Jahvon Quinerly — 6’1” | 175
- Nick Jourdain — 6’9” | 220
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While none of the above are actual monsters, their positional size is impressive. Mizzou will likely see a size deficit at every position on the field for much of the game. Which is obviously vital for two reasons.
First, Mizzou’s woes a year ago are well documented. Memphis was oddly a very good offensive rebounding team last season, but struggled on the defensive end. With the numbers being somewhat irrelevant with a complete roster overhaul, how that plays out could be very important.
Second, both teams thrive with two-point baskets. Mizzou is more of a spread out team and cut into rim attacks. Memphis will use more offense on the ball in transition and in the half court as well as on throw-ins for Jordan Brown. They will also look to find their big men on rolls and short corner lobs. Defensively, the Memphis team looks very competent as a rim defensive unit if Monday’s tape tells us anything. Both Dandridge and Brown make for a very strong last line of defense.
A year ago, Mizzou sometimes had a lot of trouble against long and athletic man defenses. Whether it was Auburn, Arkansas, Alabama or Texas A&M, the path was difficult to navigate. Memphis will offer a similar challenge. They will apply pressure when warranted and defend the restricted arc as if their lives depended on it. Mizzou will have its work cut out for it securing defensive rebounds to close out possessions and earn a clear victory on finishes around the rack. It’s possible for them to do this, and I’m intrigued to see how it will play out.
A Contrast in Programming Composition – Part 2 – Flip the Script
For every yin, there is a yang. Watching Memphis’ game against Jackson State on Monday – a 94-77 victory – I couldn’t help but notice that the Memphis team was deficient in the perimeter ball movement and safety category. Quinerly was a toned-down version of himself in Alabama. But many of us have observed that he can be a high risk, high reward guy. Beyond that? Memphis has, at best, a lot of secondary ball handlers.
Walton is a man Mizzou will need to follow. He had a dynamic first half and has the ability to beat men from the start. He lacks some creative abilities in this regard and will only attack in advantageous situations. Mills didn’t spend much time on the basketball, which is probably telling for a team with 16 turnovers. Jones really struggled to do much with the rebounding basketball, coughing up turnovers at will. Overtaking was not a prized commodity.
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Mizzou will have the opportunity to turn this game in their favor if they can get the turnover machine going and pick up the pace in transition. Memphis is no slouch when it comes to doing these things itself on the defensive end. However, I think Mizzou may have the edge in this category if they show off their patented passing and ball security abilities. If this manifests itself, disadvantages within must be mitigated, if not completely erased.
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