Keys to the game and scouting: n ° 21 Missouri

Despite two difficult defeats last week-an eruption of 98-70 against n ° 1 Auburn and a home defeat of 70-52 against Tennessee n ° 4-Porter Moser’s (16-7, 3-7) is still in Solid position to secure an NCAA tournament offer.

Oklahoma is 16-2 against teams outside the Top 10, with victories on second-class Big 12 teams, Big Ten and ACC. The opportunity is there, but the Sooners need at least three or four additional victories to solidify their place. This push begins this week, where they have to get at least one victory.

The most critical match is Saturday’s match against the LSU in Norman, but first, Oklahoma goes to Columbia for a road test against the Missouri team of Dennis Gates who played some of his best basketball Ball. The Tigers (17-6, 6-4) won two of their last four, eliminating No. 16 Ole Miss at home and the state of Mississippi n ° 14 on the road. Their two defeats in this period were competitive, falling by only four on the road to Tennessee n ° 4 and three at N ° 10 in Texas A&M.

A victory over No. 21 Missouri would give a major boost to the chances of the Oklahoma tournament. Here is what the tigers bring to the table and what the Sooners must do to win a victory on the road to Chapiteau.

For the Missouri, it starts with Tamar Bates, who leads the team with 14.0 points per game while firing 50.2% on the field and 38.8% out of three. He has been in tears lately, with an average of 19.5 points in his last four games – a key factor in the solid game of Missouri in the section.

Just behind him is Caleb Grill, a familiar face for Oklahoma fans after spending three of his six college seasons at Iowa State. Grill is on average 12.6 points and 3.2 rebounds while firing a burning 47.7% beyond the arc. When it takes fire, the Missouri becomes a team difficult to beat. In consecutive victories on Ole Miss and Mississippi State two weeks ago, Grill lost 22 and 20 points, respectively. He also won the Missouri’s largest victory for the season, marking 22 in an upheaval against Florida N ° 5 on the road.

Mark Mitchell provides another threat of score, with an average of 12.3 points and 4.6 rebounds. His production has dropped in recent weeks, with an average of only 7.2 points in his last five games, but this has happened on a five game section where he has an average of 13.6. If it comes back to the form, the Missouri becomes even more dangerous.

Tigers also count on Tony Perkins, which may on average that 8.1 points per game but plays an important role as a facilitator. With the depth and the threats of multiple notation, the Missouri has the type of list built to make a race in March.

A notable area where the Missouri excels is their franc launch rate, ranking 2nd in the country with a ratio of attempts to launch francs of 48.9%. This means that almost half of their offensive goods lead to trips to the free throw line, contributing 23.9% of their points, which ranks 11th on a national and first in the dry.

Here is an overview of the place where tigers accumulate in the national key categories:

In victories, the Missouri is on average 12 to three points per game. In losses, this number falls at only 6.5. The first step to slow them down? Defend the line at three points – starting with Caleb Grill.

The trend is clear. In the last four Missouri games, Grill spilled six and five three in their two victories. In their two defeats? He struck only two in total. He is not the only tiger to hurt you deeply, but prevent him from causing fire considerably improves the chances of Oklahoma.

The good news for the Sooners is that the defense of the perimeter was a force this season. They rank in the national seventh in three-point defense, holding opponents at only 28.8% beyond the arc. However, they did not face a team that draws it as well as the Missouri.

Wednesday evening will be a major test for the three -point defense of Oklahoma. If they want to remove the upheaval, they will have to cool the Deep Tigers.

In addition that the Missouri draws it from Deep – 37.5%, good for the 30th in the country – they find it difficult to defend the three, ranking 205th nationally by allowing opponents to draw 34.2% in the -the arc.

Last week, Oklahoma had to face two of the best three -point defenses from the country, in Tennessee (1st) and Auburn (41st). Against these two, the Sooners pulled only 28.6% compared to three (13-46). The Missouri, however, is far from this defensively level, which should give Oklahoma a much better chance of finding the success of Deep.

Since the start of the conference, Missouri adversaries have pulled 35.3%compared to three – similar to teams like Texas A&M (35.3%), in South Carolina (35.5%) and Arkansas ( 35.7%). In four games against these defenses, Oklahoma prospered beyond the arc, pulling a combination of 46.4% (39-84). If this trend continues, the Sooners could have a major advantage of deep Wednesday evening.

The Missouri ranks 5th in the country as a percentage of theft, forcing flights on 13.9% of defensive goods – a clearly better brand than any opponent than Oklahoma has been confronted so far. The closest comparison is Auburn, which forces the flights to a clip of 11.8%, and in this match, the Sooners touched the ball 15 times.

Against a team that thrives on take -out and shoots on the ball as well as in Missouri, offering additional possessions is a disaster recipe. Add the challenge of playing on the road to a hostile environment and the protection of basketball becomes an absolute priority.

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