{"id":11626,"date":"2022-12-12T08:58:23","date_gmt":"2022-12-12T13:58:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dsnotebook.me\/?p=11626"},"modified":"2024-08-28T11:38:07","modified_gmt":"2024-08-28T15:38:07","slug":"weekend-sports-notes-11","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dsnotebook.me\/index.php\/2022\/12\/12\/weekend-sports-notes-11\/","title":{"rendered":"Weekend Sports Notes"},"content":{"rendered":"

Border Dud<\/h3>\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n

Last year, when Kansas and Missouri played basketball for the first time in nearly ten years, I wrote this<\/a>:<\/p>\n

That\u2019s the good news for MU: things change quickly in college hoops these days. They could add some solid transfers and the young guys who were overmatched on Saturday may be much more comfortable and confident next December. KU could be on probation and have lost a ton of talent. 2021\u2019s embarrassment could lead to an ass kicking BY Mizzou in 2022.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Shows how much I know.<\/p>\n

Although Missouri coming in at 9\u20130 seemed to promise a more competitive game, it was not to be.<\/p>\n

It took KU about four minutes longer than last year, but it was again over and ugly pretty early. The final score was nine points closer than last year, so I guess that\u2019s a sign of progress for Mizzou?<\/p>\n

It was KU\u2019s best performance of the year, but it\u2019s tough to say it was a turning point in their season. Because Mizzou flat-out stunk Saturday. Well, the team did. The crowd was excellent and I\u2019m sure the game day vibe in Columbia was outstanding.<\/p>\n

The Tigers were undefeated, albeit against a pretty terrible schedule. They led the nation in scoring and in steals. Yet I kept thinking, \u201cOK, new coach, a bunch of transfers, weak schedule. They might be better, but no way they have a chance to win, right?\u201d<\/p>\n

And then all the computer numbers suggested a narrow KU win. Consensus was in the 2\u20134 point range.<\/p>\n

I wasn\u2019t nervous, but all the KU fans online who were nervous were making me nervous.<\/p>\n

Which was silly.<\/p>\n

It was an ideal matchup for KU. DaJuan Harris does not turn the ball over under normal circumstances. Playing in his hometown, he was ultra cautious, taking 2\u20133 seconds longer to attack their pressure to bait them into giving him angles to probe. Mizzou\u2019s lack of height was the perfect front line for KJ Adams to feast on, and he turned in the best game of his career. Mizzou\u2019s half-court pressure kept leaving KU wings wide-open for jump shots. And when the Tigers decided to guard the perimeter, that left Adams and Kevin McCullar free to fly to the rim for uncontested dunks.<\/p>\n

I\u2019ll admit I laughed out loud when Mizzou ran a KU out-of-bounds lob play – the one that Ochai Agbaji murdered a TCU dude on last year<\/a> – but threw the pass about a foot too high and it turned into a dunk the other way for McCullar.<\/p>\n

I thought it was very interesting how Bill Self coached the game. It felt more like a late February game, where he was committed to his top seven players. Ernest Udeh played a minute or two in the first half. MJ Rice played one. Cam Martin played his first ever minutes as a Jayhawk midway through the second half, got blocked, didn\u2019t close-out on a shooter, and was immediately subbed out. Other than that, it was the starters, Bobby Pettiford, and Joe Yesufu. Self was not about to give guys he doesn\u2019t trust minutes in Columbia.[1]<\/a><\/p>\n

It was fun, pounding Mizzou for a second-straight year. KU played well. But did that game prepare them for Indiana next week? Or Texas, Texas Tech, and Baylor down the road? Maybe from a crowd noise standpoint, but certainly not from a level of play perspective.<\/p>\n

For Mizzou I don\u2019t know how much you can judge the team based on Saturday. As I said, new coach, a lot of transfers, and the first time playing a high-level opponent. It was a lot to ask. I\u2019m sure Tiger fans are disappointed, but it\u2019s so early in the Dennis Gates era that you can\u2019t take much from it. It sucks (for them) that it was against KU, but based on what I saw, this was bound to happen as the Tigers move into the conference season.[2]<\/a> I think the area of concern is how the team seemed to give up at a couple points. They looked thoroughly disinterested for several stretches. If not for KU sloppiness, the Jayhawks probably hang well over 100 on them. I thought it was curious Gates pretty much refused to back out of their pressure, but maybe he was taking the long view and thinking, \u201cWell, it\u2019s not working today, but this is how we want to play, so we need to keep doing it.\u201d In the end, it doesn\u2019t matter if you lose by 15 or 30. Especially when the line was only KU \u20133.5.[3]<\/a><\/p>\n

Other pedantic notes:<\/p>\n