Missouri Vs. Illinois

[ozark trout fisher]

Big win for Mizzou against NC State. Mizzou never got a gritty road win like this last year. Haith did an excellent job putting the team in position down the stretch.

It's probably time to look at where Mizzou stacks up. They are now 11-1, heading into the last non-conference game against Long Beach State next weekend before we dive into SEC play. The RPI is within the top 30 with three solid wins now (WVU, UCLA, and NC State) and zero bad losses. If we can beat a very game Long Beach State team (and don't overlook that game, even with their 3-9 record), then that's gonna be a pretty good non-conference resume. An SEC record of 10-8 or 11-7 would likely be what is necessary for a tournament bid. Realistically whether we can get a win over Kentucky or Florida is probably more important than the overall record, and we only have one chance against each. For a strong seed (5 or higher), we'll need something like a 13-5 conference record and a big win in one of our two opportunities.

Right now, I think this is a tournament team, but we'll need to avoid too much in the way of losses to South Carolina, Auburn, Mississippi State, Alabama and the like. There will be more opportunities to hurt our RPI than help it in SEC play. We'd be a virtual lock if we were in a stronger conference.

[Al Agnew]

Yeah, last year they would have lost that game last night. I'm pretty impressed by their defense. I didn't think much of it earlier, but since Haith got back from his suspension they've started playing good defense. Williams has quietly become a very important part of this team. Clark is the weak link right now...the game is overwhelming him a little as a freshman. NCS went on the run to get their lead to 10 when he was in the game, and he contributed with turnovers and poor defense.

Brown has shown the ability to hit big shots with the game on the line the last two games, and Clarkson is clutch as well. This isn't a Final Four team at this point, but they should be a tournament team. I don't see them losing more than 6 games in conference play.

[ozark trout fisher]

Yeah, last year they would have lost that game last night. I'm pretty impressed by their defense. I didn't think much of it earlier, but since Haith got back from his suspension they've started playing good defense. Williams has quietly become a very important part of this team. Clark is the weak link right now...the game is overwhelming him a little as a freshman. NCS went on the run to get their lead to 10 when he was in the game, and he contributed with turnovers and poor defense.

Brown has shown the ability to hit big shots with the game on the line the last two games, and Clarkson is clutch as well. This isn't a Final Four team at this point, but they should be a tournament team. I don't see them losing more than 6 games in conference play.

Yeah, I see them being more steady and avoiding the bad road losses this season. There is less experienced talent on this team, but the chemistry is much better.

Wes Clark still needs a lot more experience to be a viable point guard option, which is expected for a true freshman. He'll likely be a star by his junior or senior year, but until he settles down his role may just be occasionally taking pressure off Clarkson