Post by MizzouTiger on Jan 21, 2008 2:07:05 GMT -5
www.columbiatribune.com/2008/Jan/20080120Spor012.asp
Misfiring MU shoots blanks
By JOE WALLJASPER Tribune sports editor
Published Sunday, January 20, 2008
The game was squirreled away in the cable TV hinterlands somewhere between the Napping Network and the Romanian Eroticism Channel, so, chances are, the Missouri Tigers and Kansas Jayhawks weren’t available in your living room last night. And judging by the number of sold-but-empty seats in the lower level at Mizzou Arena, some fair-weather fans couldn’t be persuaded to venture out into the temperatures that Columbia borrowed from Antarctica for the weekend.
Therefore, you probably saved yourself the aggravation of shrieking "Nooooo" as a never-ending stream of well-intentioned but misguided Tigers thingyed their arms and let fly from 3-point range. They launched 28 shots from behind the arc. Five landed in the basket. That .179 percentage is roughly the same as you would get punting the ball toward the hoop.
That’s no way to beat an undefeated team, and Missouri didn’t, falling 76-70 in a game that won’t take a spot alongside the classics in the Border War series. Too many missed field goals and free throws for that.
Give Kansas credit for winning in a hostile environment on a night when it was nowhere near its best, which is what you have to do if you’re going to stay undefeated for any length of time.
After losing by 30 points to the Jayhawks on Monday, Oklahoma Coach Jeff Capel declared them superior to another undefeated team the Sooners played earlier in the season, No. 2 Memphis. Those are the last unbeatens standing after No. 1 North Carolina’s loss to Maryland yesterday. Memphis, of Conference USA, is presumed to have the path of least resistance to a perfect regular season, although I’m not so sure. The last and only team to complete a Big 12 schedule undefeated was the 2002 Jayhawks. Missouri ruined two other Kansas flirtations with perfection in 1997 and ’98 with almost inexplicable victories over vastly superior KU teams.
The Tigers couldn’t do it this time, and I’m not so sure anyone else will. This Kansas team lacks the star power of the 2002 team - Nick Collison, Drew Gooden, Kirk Hinrich and Wayne Simien weren’t bad - but it has great depth, defense and guard play. Seven different players have led Kansas in scoring. Last night, it was Mario Chalmers with 18. Counting last night, KU has given up 70 points only three times this year. With Chalmers, Sherron Collins and Russell Robinson handling the ball, the Jayhawks lead the league in assist-to-turnover ratio.
Nobody is upset-proof, but these traits reduce the odds.
Missouri did a few things it needed to do to win. Its full-court press wasn’t a liability, as it often has been against good competition this year. The Jayhawks didn’t turn the game into a dunk contest like they did last year at Mizzou Arena. And the Tigers showed far greater willingness to block out on defense than they usually do. The big and athletic Jayhawks grabbed 14 offensive rebounds - the same number as the Tigers.
Kudos to MU Coach Mike Anderson for starting Vaidotas Volkus over Leo Lyons, but why play him only 10 minutes when he is the only guy making any shots? Volkus was 4 for 5 from the field.
While Volkus was filling it up, the rest of Missouri’s bigs were operating under the mistaken impression they were guards. The only guys who should be shooting 3-pointers regularly are Stefhon Hannah and Matt Lawrence - although they were bad and worse from beyond the arc last night. We’ve seen a large enough sample size to know that DeMarre Carroll, J.T. Tiller and Darryl Butterfield have better things to do than shoot 3s.
Just say no to the 3-pointers, fellas, so the fans don’t have to.
Misfiring MU shoots blanks
By JOE WALLJASPER Tribune sports editor
Published Sunday, January 20, 2008
The game was squirreled away in the cable TV hinterlands somewhere between the Napping Network and the Romanian Eroticism Channel, so, chances are, the Missouri Tigers and Kansas Jayhawks weren’t available in your living room last night. And judging by the number of sold-but-empty seats in the lower level at Mizzou Arena, some fair-weather fans couldn’t be persuaded to venture out into the temperatures that Columbia borrowed from Antarctica for the weekend.
Therefore, you probably saved yourself the aggravation of shrieking "Nooooo" as a never-ending stream of well-intentioned but misguided Tigers thingyed their arms and let fly from 3-point range. They launched 28 shots from behind the arc. Five landed in the basket. That .179 percentage is roughly the same as you would get punting the ball toward the hoop.
That’s no way to beat an undefeated team, and Missouri didn’t, falling 76-70 in a game that won’t take a spot alongside the classics in the Border War series. Too many missed field goals and free throws for that.
Give Kansas credit for winning in a hostile environment on a night when it was nowhere near its best, which is what you have to do if you’re going to stay undefeated for any length of time.
After losing by 30 points to the Jayhawks on Monday, Oklahoma Coach Jeff Capel declared them superior to another undefeated team the Sooners played earlier in the season, No. 2 Memphis. Those are the last unbeatens standing after No. 1 North Carolina’s loss to Maryland yesterday. Memphis, of Conference USA, is presumed to have the path of least resistance to a perfect regular season, although I’m not so sure. The last and only team to complete a Big 12 schedule undefeated was the 2002 Jayhawks. Missouri ruined two other Kansas flirtations with perfection in 1997 and ’98 with almost inexplicable victories over vastly superior KU teams.
The Tigers couldn’t do it this time, and I’m not so sure anyone else will. This Kansas team lacks the star power of the 2002 team - Nick Collison, Drew Gooden, Kirk Hinrich and Wayne Simien weren’t bad - but it has great depth, defense and guard play. Seven different players have led Kansas in scoring. Last night, it was Mario Chalmers with 18. Counting last night, KU has given up 70 points only three times this year. With Chalmers, Sherron Collins and Russell Robinson handling the ball, the Jayhawks lead the league in assist-to-turnover ratio.
Nobody is upset-proof, but these traits reduce the odds.
Missouri did a few things it needed to do to win. Its full-court press wasn’t a liability, as it often has been against good competition this year. The Jayhawks didn’t turn the game into a dunk contest like they did last year at Mizzou Arena. And the Tigers showed far greater willingness to block out on defense than they usually do. The big and athletic Jayhawks grabbed 14 offensive rebounds - the same number as the Tigers.
Kudos to MU Coach Mike Anderson for starting Vaidotas Volkus over Leo Lyons, but why play him only 10 minutes when he is the only guy making any shots? Volkus was 4 for 5 from the field.
While Volkus was filling it up, the rest of Missouri’s bigs were operating under the mistaken impression they were guards. The only guys who should be shooting 3-pointers regularly are Stefhon Hannah and Matt Lawrence - although they were bad and worse from beyond the arc last night. We’ve seen a large enough sample size to know that DeMarre Carroll, J.T. Tiller and Darryl Butterfield have better things to do than shoot 3s.
Just say no to the 3-pointers, fellas, so the fans don’t have to.