Follow Up: Watch Out For Missouri

What a game last night against Kansas!  The Tigers stormed back after being down by 14 at halftime to win 62-60 in front of an energized crowd in Columbia.  While the offense was nothing to be proud of, the defense came through… and I think Kansas knows that they just experienced “40 minutes of hell.”  Missouri forced 26 Kansas turnovers and snagged 13 steals on the night.  Look for the exciting rematch at Allen Fieldhouse on March 1st.

Watch Out For Missouri

This week, the Missouri Tigers became ranked for the first time since Week 6 (when they were ranked #25 in the AP Poll).  Mizzou fans finally have something to cheer about since Quin Snyder’s exit. 

Folks, this team is scary.  Mike Anderson, the third year coach in Columbia, has done a fantastic job.  Coming from the Nolan Richardson school of thought, “40 minutes of hell,” you know that Missouri loves to cause turnovers and wreak havoc on offenses.  As evidence, Missouri ranks 3rd nationally (1st in the Big 12) in steals per game with 10.7.

But what makes this team so dangerous is their offense where the Tigers rank 4th in the nation (1st in the Big 12) in scoring at 84.2 points per game, and 16th in the nation (2nd in the Big 12) in team FG% at 48.5%.  They’ve also racked up the highest number of assists with 468 and are ranked 2nd in the nation (1st in the Big 12) in assists per game with 19.5.

Combine a swarming, pressure defense with a high powered and efficient offense and you get a team like the Missouri Tigers who could surprise some people come mid to late March.  Mike Anderson has experienced good success as an assistant at Arkansas.  Can he do the same as the head man at Missouri?