Missouri basketball beats South Carolina for SEC win. Here's what to know
Missouri men’s basketball couldn’t do much right in its last game against Mississippi State. The Tigers did something head coach Dennis Gates said all season couldn’t happen: had a negative assist-to-turnover ratio.
The Tigers aren’t a great rebounding team, so the ratio has been key for a squad that has to pick up possessions in other ways. Against South Carolina, they needed to fix that stat before a road matchup with Tennessee.
Gates’ bunch did that Tuesday, finishing the game with 17 assists against 10 turnovers. They won the game 83-74, moving to 18-6 on the season, and 6-5 in SEC play.
"We want to stay as solid as possible, but also disciplined in what we do," Gates said after the game. "And then that, by nature, allows us to get some of those turnovers because guys are in the right spot."
The win wasn’t pretty. The Tigers had major trouble on defense against a South Carolina team that came in at just 1-9 in SEC games, 8-15 overall.
Throughout the game, it seemed like Missouri had chances to turn it into the blowout victory that fans were looking for. Through a combination of untimely cold offense and not being able to stop the Gamecocks, that didn't happen until late, when South Carolina unraveled and the Tigers were finally able to take advantage.
"We focused on the small things, South Carolina (was) able to make shots," Gates said. "I thought our ability to do the right things, but South Carolina's ability to make shots dove into a little frustration in our personalities that wasn't normally there, but that's what February is about."
Kobe Brown led the Tigers with 19 points in the win. He also had eight rebounds and six assists to lead Missouri in those categories as well.
According to Gates, he wasn't happy with how Brown started the game, and thought he passed up some shots he should have taken. The coach challenged his top forward, and Brown improved.
"He and I shared words, some that my mom wouldn't be proud of hearing," Gates said. "But he responded. He responded in a way that I thought a top-50 player in the country should respond."
Better shooting
After an ice-cold night at Mississippi State, Missouri wanted to prove it could shoot the ball again. The Tigers decided to take the fight to South Carolina, right from the opening tip, when Noah Carter got the ball to Nick Honor, who threw the lob back to Carter for a dunk to start the scoring.
Carter had the first six points of the night for the Tigers, including the first three-pointer. Missouri would get six more of those before the half was through, more than they did the entire game against Mississippi State.
D’Moi Hodge got especially hot from deep during the first half. He led the Tigers with 12 points at halftime, all of them coming via four three-pointers.
Mo Diarra and Aidan Shaw also chipped in with a three each. Missouri hit 41% of its attempts from deep range during the first half, to go along with 48.4% overall from the field.
It would have been an even better half for the Tigers if they had been able to get stops earlier. The Gamecocks had little trouble getting to the basket and took the lead multiple times throughout.
South Carolina star GG Jackson did not start the game but did make his presence known once he got in, immediately drilling a three-pointer to tie the game. Toward the end of the half, Missouri was able to get stops, forcing four Gamecock turnovers in the final 2:53, and taking a 42-37 lead to the locker room.
The Tigers finished 12-of-25 from three, and 50.9% from the field.
Lineup notes
After an incident where he made his displeasure with his current situation known via an Instagram live video, South Carolina’s GG Jackson did not start Tuesday’s game. He did play, however, and was a major force in the game, finishing with 23 points.
Missouri was once again without Tre Gomillion, who has missed time with a groin injury. Ronnie DeGray III was out again with a knee.
Gates said this week that he was going to exercise caution with both Gomillion and DeGray, and did not want to rush them back and risk further injury.
Missouri’s Isiaih Mosley also did not play. He was available and was sitting on the bench, but never entered the game.
Mosley missed significant time earlier in the season for personal reasons that were never made public.
The Tigers will be back in action on Saturday, on the road against Tennessee. That game is scheduled for a 5 p.m. start and will be aired on the SEC Network.
This article originally appeared on Columbia Daily Tribune: Missouri basketball beats South Carolina. Here's what to know
