For Missouri, hot shooting and fast pace has been a recipe for success in 2022-23, and Wednesday night’s victory over LSU was no different.
Hey ho, let’s go! Hey ho, let’s go!Hey ho, let’s go! Hey ho, let’s go!
Those are the opening lyrics to the ‘70s smash-hit “Blitzkrieg Bop” by the Ramones. The repetitive and energetic phrase also encapsulates Missouri men’s basketball’s 87-77 win over LSU on Wednesday, as the Tigers from Columbia consistently played at a pace the Tigers from Baton Rouge could not catch up with.
“They hit us with an avalanche,” LSU head coach Matt McMahon said after the game.
Missouri defeated LSU in the same fashion that it has conquered other foes: with controlled speed. In fact, the next two lines in the song line up with that sentiment:
They’re forming in a straight line.They’re going through a tight wind.
Missouri plays fast. Often, there is a lot happening on the court at one time with Missouri, but every movement seems intentional and orderly. They form straight lines and go through tight winds, which is very difficult to do when moving at a quick tempo. Think of it like a NASCAR driver — although they’re going 200 miles per hour, they almost always have complete control of the car. Missouri only turned the ball over 10 times against LSU, a testament to how much the Tigers have acclimated to head coach Dennis Gates’ up-tempo system.
“Last summer, it was kind of like, ‘OK, get used to it.’ We weren’t so good,” senior forward Kobe Brown said. “Now, it’s second nature. We want to get the ball out as fast as we can, score as fast as we can. That’s all we know now.”
Coming into Wednesday, Missouri ranked 40th in adjusted tempo according to KenPom, while LSU ranked 275th, and it showed in LSU’s inability to properly handle the heat.
“They do a great job of putting pressure on your defense, whether you score or not,” McMahon said. “They run the ball right back at you, so you’ve got to sprint back and get your defense set quickly. We were unable to do that at the level we needed to do.”
While the word “tempo” may imply succeeding frequently in transition, it wasn’t all just fast breaks for Missouri on Wednesday night.
On offense, Missouri moved the ball in a manner that would have pleased legendary San Antonio Spurs head coach Gregg Popovich. Missouri racked up 26 assists, its third-most in a game this season. The offense scored numerous times off of timely cuts and quick, high-level passing. Gates, who used a successful backdoor pass from graduate guard Nick Honor to Brown as an example, said that the effective ball movement is a product of allowing his players to take risks.
“Nick Honor, in terms of that backdoor pass, he knew he had to take the risk because that was the play call, and he knew that Kobe was going to back cut,” Gates said. “Being able to set those plays up gives our guys confidence to take the risks that they take. Our guys played with an unselfish spirit.”
Missouri also made LSU pay from downtown, shooting 13/27 (48.1%) from 3. The team made nine of its first 16 triples, which helped it build an 18-point lead in the first half.
Brown was Missouri’s most lethal weapon from long-range. Prior to Wednesday, Brown had never made more than four 3-pointers in a Division I game. He surpassed that number in the first half.
Brown shot an impressive 5/6 from downtown in the first 20 minutes even though he didn’t attempt a three-pointer in the second half. Over his last three games, Brown has shot 10/14 (71.4%) from long range. He had not yet shot better than 25% from three over a full season in Columbia, but this season that number has skyrocketed all the way up to 47.6% on almost a full attempt more per game than last season.
“Kobe Brown can shoot the leather off the ball,” senior forward Noah Carter said. “The first shot he hit, I gave him a little flip back, he shot it, and I was like ‘Oh yeah, this is going to be a good night.’”
Brown attributed a chunk of the newfound success to Gates and the rest of the team. Gates said that he told Brown earlier this year that he would sub him out if he passed up an open shot.
“It’s the confidence they instill, my teammates and my coach,” Brown said. “It’s easier to shoot the ball when you have so much confidence behind you.”
Another aspect that helped keep Missouri’s energy up was the crowd, which has been a presence ever since the Tigers began SEC play back in December. Several games at Mizzou Arena have been sold out, including future home games against Texas A&M and Ole Miss. In fact, the next line of “Blitzkrieg Bop” coincides with this sentiment:
The kids are losing their minds.
While the game against LSU was not officially sold out, the arena was full of fans that roared after every Missouri success on the court. Gates has acknowledged several times how having a large, raucous crowd positively affects his team on the court.
“That was an outstanding game atmosphere,” Gates said. “Our fans continue to show up. Our guys feed off of that.”
All in all, Wednesday night was the epitome of 2022-23 Missouri basketball. The Tigers got hot from downtown, swung the ball around and forced their opponent to play their game.
Although Missouri’s schedule has difficult games ahead – the Tigers play Tennessee, Auburn and Texas A&M in the span of seven days – all of Missouri’s future opponents should know that when they play the Tigers, Missouri will be all revved up and ready to go.
Edited by Davis Wilson, dwilson@themaneater.comCopy edited by Grace Knight