Missouri basketball experienced a lot of ups and downs throughout the second week of the season. They scored an easy win at home against SIU-Edwardsville, behind a solid defensive performance. They then traveled to Minneapolis to face the Golden Gophers of Minnesota, where they mounted a shocking 20-point comeback to knock off the Gophers in the final seconds. 

The low part of the week came against a winless Jackson State squad on Sunday, Nov. 19. They looked flat on defense, and a late run by the Tigers from Mississippi resulted in a 73-72 defeat. 

Here are three takeaways from this roller coaster week of Missouri basketball:

The Tigers are losing the second-chance points battle almost every game

Missouri allowed 14 second-chance points in their loss to Jackson State compared to its  12. The Tigers also lost the offensive rebounding battle. With newly introduced senior center Connor Vanover only receiving limited minutes, height seems to be a potential problem for the Tigers – not including freshman center Jordan Butler, who stands at 7-feet and weighs in at  230-pounds. There were also multiple instances against Jackson State where effort seemed to be low when crashing the defensive glass. Missouri will face teams with bigger and more athletic players than Jackson State where they will have to be able to close the gap with second-chance points.
The Tigers also lost this battle in their massive comeback win against Minnesota. The Tigers only recorded five second-chance points on nine offensive rebounds. The Gophers had a bigger roster, but there were missed chances that the Tigers didn’t capitalize on.

Dennis Gates is still experimenting with lineups

Down the stretch against Minnesota, junior guard Curt Lewis played valuable minutes. Until that point, he had played limited minutes. It’s unclear what led to Lewis playing that many minutes, but he left his impact regardless, coming up with four big points and a steal to contribute to the comeback. Freshman forward Trent Pierce has also played a lot down the stretch, with all five of his points coming with under 10 minutes left in the second half. 

Senior forward Jesus Carralero Martin has been in and out of the rotation, being inserted into the lineup at somewhat spontaneous times. He gave the Tigers a valuable 18 minutes against Jackson State, leading the team in assists after only playing three minutes in the previous game. Vanover has alo thrown another wrench in the Tiger’s rotation, as he has yet to contribute much, only playing five minutes a game. 

Senior guard John Tonje was thrown into the mix as well for the Tigers, starting in the last three games. Tonje has been averaging four points in 9.8 minutes per game so far as he tries to find his footing. Vanover, Tonje and Carralero Martin are still learning their roles early in the season, and when they do, they will hopefully provide important contributions to the Tigers.
The Tigers are only five games into a long season, so it makes sense that head coach Dennis Gates is still figuring out the rotation. Narrowing it down will be challenging, given everyone contributing minutes brings some sort of positive impact. It’s too early to say who will earn minutes throughout the season, or if Gates will keep the rotation as big as it is.

The Tigers have improved from the three-point line since the Memphis game

Missouri shot a dismal 21% from the field against Memphis. The Tigers have responded since, significantly improving their perimeter shooting numbers. Against SIU-Edwardsville, they shot 37.9%. They went on to shoot 34.8% against Minnesota and 37.9% against Jackson State. They’ve hit 30 three-point shots in the last three games, which is also a good sign. 

Senior guard Sean East II is leading the team in three-point percentage, shooting 60% on ten attempts. Senior point guard Nick Honor is shooting 46.7% on 30 attempts, with four of those coming against Minnesota. After a worrisome shooting performance against Memphis, the Tigers have bounced back and steadied out from the perimeter.

Edited by Quentin Corpuel | qcorpuel@themaneater.com 

Copy edited by Sterling Sewell | ssewell@themaneater.com