Missouri's Dajuan Gordon stretches to make the basket on Monday, Nov. 15, 2021 at Mizzou Arena in Columbia.
Missouri men’s basketball’s performance Monday night was one to forget. Their offensive performance was one of many struggles that played into their 80-66 loss to UMKC.
Missouri finished the game with a total of 18 turnovers, and many of them led to fastbreak points for UMKC. Due to the Tigers struggling to take care of the ball, the Roos were able to record 20 points off turnovers.
“I felt like some of our guys held onto the ball too long,” Missouri head coach Cuonzo Martin said.
Missouri also struggled with 3-point shooting. The Tigers shot a total 4-14 (28.6%) from the 3-point line and could not heat up from behind the arc. The Tigers got open looks from the perimeter, but they weren’t falling. Redshirt junior guard Jarron Coleman, who knocked down four 3’s a week ago, didn’t hit a single 3 and missed the only one he attempted.
Free throws also proved costly for Missouri, as the Tigers collectively shot 14-24 (58.3%) from the free throw line. There were multiple occasions in the second half where Missouri would earn a trip to the freethrow line and go 1-2. This made a big difference, as UMKC won the free throw battle by shooting 65%.
“We got to the free-throw line, but we have to knock down our free throws,” senior guard Javon Pickett said. “We got to be better than that.”
Although Missouri faltered on the offensive end, the Tigers still showed some hope. Junior forward Kobe Brown finished with 20 points on 8-11 shooting. Alongside Brown’s performance, Missouri started to make mini runs in the final minutes, including 7 straight points.
“We started to move the ball,” Pickett said. “Coach told us to cut, we started doing those things and the floor started to open up.”
It is only November, and Missouri is only two games into the season. Martin and his coaching staff are still figuring out how they want to run their offense. Martin mentioned after their victory against Central Michigan a week ago that he wants this team to play fast — and they did not do much of that on Monday. If they start pushing the ball up the court more, maybe then the Tigers will have more success on the offensive end.
Edited by Mason Arneson | marneson@themaneater.com