Missouri basketball: Will a loss at South Carolina put the Tigers' NCAA Tournament hopes in jeopardy?
To put it simply, the Gamecocks are just not that good. South Carolina’s overall record is below .500, at 13-14, and their conference record is even worse at 3-11, which is 12th in the SEC. Only Mississippi State has less conference wins, with 2.So what should we expect from the Tigers on Thursday night? That is probably the question, burning on every Tiger’s fan come game time.
This is the only time all season, I can honestly say, I have no idea what to expect out of this team. Watching Mizzou this season feels a roller coaster ride, especially transitioning from home to road games.
Mizzou’s loss at Kentucky makes this a back-to-back road game. The last time Mizzou was faced with a back-to-back road game was on February 13 and 16th, one of those being a win against Mississippi State. Hopefully for the Tigers, that 1 for 1 trend continues.
Phil Pressey must learn to improve on managing the game with better decision making in the clutch. Turnovers and shot attempts is how I’ll judge Pressey after the game. I would love to see Pressey have zero turnovers and if the game becomes close, play like an All-American who can be trusted with the ball in the final possession.
Mizzou needs to stay out of foul trouble. Laurence Bowers and Alex Oriakhi fouled out against Kentucky. Having those two seniors on the floor against South Carolina will improve Missouri’s chances of winning. Keion Bell, Jabari Brown and Earnest Ross were a combined 8-25 from the field and 1-11 from 3-point range. I don’t know what else needs to be done to point out to Coach Haith, that he has a more than capable stud freshmen on his bench to sub in when these guys are cold.
Stefan Jankovic has been a forgotten player on this team as of late. Jankovic has proven he can hit the three on many occasions this year. It’s not only his jump shooting. Jankovic has an all-around game. He gets his teammates involved and at 6’11, is a nightmare matchup for opposing teams. I remember when this team was winning earlier in the year and Jankovic was a big part of it, even making SportsCenter Top 10 Plays with his dunks. How much worse can the outcome be, with Stefan on the floor?
These road losses and late game miscues are piling up on the bad end of Missouri’s resume and could hurt the team's chances of making this year’s NCAA Tournament. Something has to change and it might not be a bad idea for Coach Haith to find a much needed spark off his bench. Like most good NBA coaches normally do, when things are not going in the right direction, they make adjustments. This season may depend on it.
My Prediction: Missouri wins 71-60
Zvonko Dzinovic covers the Missouri Tigers basketball team for StlSportsMinute.com. You can follow him on Twitter (@Z_Dzinovic) and read the rest of his content here.
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