| 14 July 2009
Yet another solid victory for the Tigers against a team that they should beat. The way this team plays on its home court is great to see. It was also nice to see the Tigers build a big lead and withstand Tech's run better than they did Okie. State's surge earlier this week (granted they were playing at home and Tech probably isn't quite as good as the Cowboys).
- I'm finding it interesting how much Leo Lyons' minutes have been reduced since the traffic ticket incident. He only played 13 minutes on Saturday and had a couple stretches where I thought he was kinda loafing. But he did get to the line eight times and converted every one of those into points. Eight trips to the line in 13 minutes is pretty impressive. I think he's still pretty soft defensively but he seems to have conquered his fear of contact on the offensive end, which plagued him so much during his first three seasons.
- J.T. Tiller was causing all kinds of hell on defense. He finished with seven takeaways and might have gotten 10 had he not gotten into foul trouble. He was a little out of control on offense (two-of-six, three turnovers) but was constantly attacking. I think he's really stepped up his game the last two games.
- It looks like Keith Ramsey is gaining more and more confidence each game. We've known for awhile that his defense and rebounding are very solid but the past few games he's started to look more comfortable with the ball in his hands. But I'm a little perplexed as to why Laurence Bowers only played five minutes.
- Great game from DeMarre Carroll (despite the six missed free throws). I love the emotion he shows when he plays. The rest of the team really seems to feed off of it and the fans definitely do. I don't think there's any doubt that he's the alpha dog on this team.
- Kim English didn't have a spectacular game and actually struggled a bit from the field (five-of-13), but I just love watching him play. He's so smart and just so solid. Rarely makes mental errors. That's why we see him getting so many crunch time minutes.
- Big time game from Marcus Denmon. Came up with some huge shots down the stretch. No one was harder on this kid for his shot selection after the Nebraska game than me, but since then he's shot nine-of-16 from beyond the arc (56 percent), which raises his overall 3-pt percentage to a respectable 34 percent. Not only that, but he passed up a couple open looks yesterday because they obviously didn't come within the flow of the offense and Mizzou needed to be milking the clock. I was also harsh on coach Anderson earlier this year for his young players' poor shot selection. Well, they seem to be learning. A lot of that credit should go to the coaching staff.
- So Mizzou improves to 17-3. Sure the Tigers have had a few setbacks along the way, but if you'd have told us before the season started that the Tigers would have that record at this point in the year, every single one of us would have gladly taken it. The magic number to clinch a Tournament birth is probably six now, but this next week is going to be absolutely huge. K-State's not very good and is a team the Tigers should be able to handle fairly easily. But if they somehow manage to slip up on the road, which as we've seen with this team is entirely possible, then that's a major setback. But if they do take care of business then that sets the stage for a huge match-up with a reeling Baylor team next Saturday night at Mizzou Arena. That's a game that the fans will come out in droves for and a game that could propel the Tigers back into the Top 25 if they win. But lets take it one game at a time. The Tigers should have revenge on their minds after what happened in Manhattan last season. In case you've forgotten, here's a reminder: 100-63.
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