Even in defeat, Missouri basketball teased improvement: 3 reasons to be encouraged

Missouri basketball’s 2024-25 season-opener finished the same way as the 19 games that came before, but the signs of a brighter future were there.

Mizzou lost 83-75 to Memphis on Monday at FedEx Forum to open its new campaign, and Dennis Gates’ team now has a 20-game losing streak dating back to last season. There were plenty of familiar low points in the second-half collapse, including questionable lineup choices, some barren spells on offense and an inability to keep the opposition away from the free-throw line.

That’s the bad.

Now for the good.

Before the game went south, there were plenty of reasons not to give in to pessimism on this Missouri team quite yet. Here are three:

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The hallmarks of Gates’ first Missouri team were there.

For a full half, it looked a lot like the team that went to the SEC Tournament semifinals and NCAA Tournament second round.

Mizzou worked a 2-3 zone defense that was a major first-half headache for Memphis, as MU had six steals that it turned into 12 fast-break points.

The Missouri offense that let the likes of D’Moi Hodge and DeAndre Gholston thrive two seasons ago was back on display with 12 points off turnovers, 12 total assists to just three turnovers, and 15 attempts from 3.

There’s a clear sense that this team is longer and more athletic and more capable of playing the style Gates wants — and that applies to both ends of the court.

Mizzou, if it plays like it did for 20 minutes in Memphis, is going to give a lot of teams a lot of problems courtesy of its frenetic pace. That should set up some exciting games.

“The lesson is this: endurance,” Gates said. … “That first half becoming, now, the second half, right? I think if we are able to continue to know…

Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/even-defeat-missouri-basketball-teased-090538572.html

Author : Columbia Daily Tribune

Publish date : 2024-11-07 09:05:00

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