Mark and Dru Smith each had solid nights from beyond the arc for Missouri on Wednesday, combining to knock down four triples on eight attempts.
Those with different surnames were less successful.
The rest of the Tigers collectively shot 0-14 from downtown in an overall shaky offensive performance. It was enough to beat Morehead State of the Ohio Valley Conference, but coach Cuonzo Martin knows it’s not a formula for winning Southeastern Conference games.
“I thought we shot too many off the dribble threes in the first half,” Martin said. “The way they were going ball screens, they were going under, so of course it’s enticing to do that. But you have to know who you are and know your strengths and read the defense, still get downhill and make the next play. I thought we settled for them.”
Despite the cold shooting both on Wednesday and in the beginning of the season as a whole, Missouri doesn’t see a need to adjust how it plays.
“It doesn’t change our mindset as a team at all,” Mark Smith said. “Whether the shots are falling or not, we’re still gonna play hard and play defense. That’s our team identity that we want to be in.”
The lack of adjustment on the offensive ends stems from a belief that Missouri has had both open shots and the skilled personnel to consistently make them. It just hasn’t all come together yet.
“With our shots not falling right now, I’m not really too concerned, because I know a lot of guys, they put in work to knock down those shots,” sophomore guard Javon Pickett said. “As we keep going on, those shots are gonna fall. Everyone’s just staying confident, believing in one another.”
Cutting down on turnovers was a priority for the Tigers heading into the season after averaging 14.3 per game in 2018-19. They saw little improvement in their first four contests. Going into the game on Wednesday, they averaged 14.6 per game, although that figure was slightly inflated after a 20-giveaway performance against No.18 Xavier University. Missouri was almost as bad against Morehead State, turning the ball over 17 times.
“I thought we did a poor job of really just taking care of the ball,” Martin said. “I thought we were careless. Yeah, I mean you could see it. But again, [Morehead State is] a talented team. They’re on the floor, so they had something to do with it without question, but I think we had a lot to do with it.”
Junior forward Jeremiah Tilmon struggled while facing double teams in the post throughout the game. He shot just 2-7 from the field and had as many turnovers (five) as he did points. It was his lowest scoring output of the season and just the second time he’s been held to single-digit points.
“He sees teams that double him differently every game,” Martin said. “They send a guard. They send a guy that makes the path. They send a big-on-big. They come from the baseline, so he sees so many different things, so I imagine for him, it’s just settling in on how they defend him.”
Sophomore Torrence Watson also had an underwhelming performance, missing all six shots he took. Unlike Tilmon, Watson’s struggles haven’t been isolated to a single game. He’s made five field goals in the first six games, all of them 3-pointers. His performance against Morehead State brought his shooting percentage down to an abysmal 18.5%. His teammates are confident — just like they are with regards to the rest of the team — that it’s just a matter of time before the sophomore starts playing the way he showed he could during his freshman season when he shot 36% from deep.
“He’s gonna be fine,” Pickett said. “Torrence is a great shooter. He might not have been shooting it how he wants to, but that’s gonna come for Torrence. He’s a great shooter. We all believe in him.”
_Edited by Emily Leiker | eleiker@themaneater.com_