| 30 November 2010
This photo sums up Missouri's night. (AP photo)
Georgetown played out of their minds. The Hoyas traveled 1,000 miles to a hostile environment and still managed to play a great game. Georgetown shot 15-32 from downtown. They out-rebounded Missouri by 11. They played up to Missouri's pace and never wavered. Despite all this, this game was Missouri's game to lose.
After falling behind by as many as 18, Missouri battled back. Led by a remarkable performance from KC native Marcus Denmon, Mizzou found itself in the driver's seat as tonight's game came down to the final minutes. In the end, it was elementary level mistakes that cost Missouri a resume-building win.
Make free throws. Never save the ball under your own hoop.
Making free throws is a cliche, but it's especially important against quality opponents. As for saving the ball under your own hoop, that's something that is taught as young as junior high. In the best case, it's a risky move. In the worst case, it can lead to... well you saw it tonight. In Kimmie's defense, it looked like he was trying to throw the ball off of the Georgetown player to get Mizzou possession. It's a nice idea but it failed miserably. However, if Laurence Bowers or Michael Dixon go better than one of four from the line in the final 30 seconds, I'm not writing this article.
A lot of fans will point to Georgetown's bogus three near the end of the first half. Yes, it shouldn't have counted. However, it shouldn't have mattered. In the end, Georgetown played at an extremely high level and Missouri still had its chances to win. Eight minutes into the game the Hoyas were shooting 80 percent. They finished at nearly 57 percent shooting. They didn't miss a free throw all night yet Mizzou stuck with them. The loss hurts, but after Mizzou's struggles earlier this season, tonight's performance showed what can happen when this team is clicking. It's scary. Now, if only they could have closed this one out...
Marcus Denmon played out of his mind in front of the hometown crowd. (AP photo)
Extra thoughts:
- Marcus Denmon: Wow. 27 points on 10-12 shooting, five three pointers, six rebounds, and two steals.
- How nice is it to have a back to the basket big man? Missouri was killed in OT, but if there were any bright spots it was Ricardo Ratliffe's four points. He proved he can score when he has to.
- Tonight we got to see who Mike Anderson really trusts. It's clearly Dixon over Pressey, Bowers and Ratliffe over Safford, and Matt Pressey as the sixth man.
- Overall, the loss doesn't hurt Mizzou except for national rankings. It doesn't affect anything in conference and Mizzou won't need this win to boost it's tourney resume come March. It would have been nice. It should have been a W. But it shouldn't come back to haunt this team.
- Am I missing anything? Would love to hear your thoughts.
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