After absorbing a heartbreaking defeat Tuesday, Missouri has been calculating its NCAA Tournament chances ahead of a matchup against Oklahoma on Saturday at Columbia, Mo.
“We’ve got to be able to stay above .500 in the next six games,” Missouri coach Dennis Gates said after his team fell 74-72 to No. 21 Georgia on Tuesday. “That’s the art of a full season: try to stay healthy, understand wins are going to come and go. You’ve got to be able to bounce back if you fail to get a win.”
The Tigers (13-6, 3-3 SEC) have lost three of four as they get set to take on the Sooners (11-8, 1-5).
Oklahoma is on a five-game losing streak after an 85-76 loss at South Carolina on Tuesday. Xzavier Brown scored 22 points and Tae Davis had 20 for the Sooners.
“There was nothing unexpected,” Oklahoma coach Porter Moser said. “There was nothing that we didn’t talk to them about, coming out and defending. We’ve been really hurt (against centers). … You can go down the list. We’ve really got to do some soul searching for defending (centers).”
The Tigers will present another interior defensive challenge with power forward Mark Mitchell, who averages 17.3 points and 5.3 rebounds. He scores more of his points attacking the basket off the dribble.
But Missouri is still looking to get production from center Shawn Phillips Jr., who is a traditional low-post player. He averages 7.8 points and 4.6 rebounds in 19.4 minutes per game.
“Shawn Phillips has tremendous touch around the rim,” Gates said earlier this season. “We know how violent he attacks it, especially on dunks. And Mark (Mitchell) is one of the leading players in the country in and-1 field goals. So when you’re thinking about playing through contact, those two are some of the best.”
Guards Jayden Stone (15 points, 5.2 rebounds) and Trent Pierce (10 points), as well as forward Jacob Crews (11.6 points), provide the perimeter shooting to create space for Mitchell and Phillips.
Oklahoma is led by Brown (16.3 points) and Nijel Pack (15.2), while Davis (13.2) and Derrion Reid (11.7) are also scoring in double figures.
While Moser leans hard on his seven-man rotation, Gates has been sorting through 10 players from game to game. Nine different Tigers have started multiple games this season, including injured forward Jevon Porter.
–Field Level Media
