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Our game preview goes through alot of the details on them coming in as well as their injury situation and most recent games. A pretty good tutorial of the style of defense Mizzou plays: a run & jump press defense. Its a man press as opposed to our zone pressure. In the half court set they tend to play a good bit of 2-3.
Online video link for those at work.
Leading Scorers: So. G Kim English (13.9ppg, 3.4rpg), So. G Marcus Denmon (10.8ppg, 3.1 rpg, 42% from 3), So. F Laurence Bowers (10.1ppg, 5.6rpg), Sr. G J.T. Tiller (8.8ppg, 3.1 apg, 3rpg), Sr. G Zaire Taylor (8.2ppg, 2.5apg, 3.1rpg)
Press Conferences
Mike Anderson NCAAT Presser, OP's Presser.
Missouri Player interviews, Trevor Booker/Stitt interview.
Stat breakdown after the jump....
Statistical Breakdown
MU | Clemson | ||
Ranking | 20 | 17 | |
Mizzou Offense vs Clemson Defense Ranks | |||
MU Offense | CU Defense | ||
Efficiency | 49 | 10 | |
Effective FG% | 99 | 55 | |
Turnover % | 49 | 8 | |
Off. Reb. % | 135 | 216 | |
FTA/FGA | 279 | 119 | |
Clemson Offense vs Mizzou Defense Ranks | |||
CU Offense | MU Defense | ||
Efficiency | 47 | 11 | |
Effective FG% | 81 | 45 | |
Turnover % | 218 | 3 | |
Off. Reb. % | 51 | 323 | |
Mizzou | Opp | |
Points Per Possession (PPP) | 1.08 | 0.92 |
2-PT FG% | 47.7% | 45.3% |
3-PT FG% | 37.1% | 30.8% |
FT% | 72.8% | 70% |
eFG | 50.3% | 45.6% |
Mizzou | Opp | |
Assists/Gm | 15.2 | 11.1 |
Steals/Gm | 10.9 | 6.2 |
Turnovers/Gm | 13 | 19.7 |
Assist/Turnover Ratio | 1.17 | 0.57 |
Mizzou | Opp | |
Total Rebounds/Gm | 35.4 | 38 |
Offensive Rebounds/Gm | 13.0 | 13.7 |
Defensive Rebounds/Gm | 22.4 | 24.3 |
Be prepared for a fast-paced back and forth game, either way it goes. This could be one of those games where someone gets a big run and it snowballs from there. I think Clemson needs this kind of pace to win the game though.
"From the outside view, when you watch us play, sometimes it looks a little helter skelter," Missouri senior guard Zaire Taylor said. "I think it's a little organized chaos going on, whereas when I watch them it seemed a little more organized in appearance. But both styles I feel are effective."
Bart Wright talks about Clemson's problems on the big stage and how badly we need to just win one NCAA game to get the monkey off our backs. 2 years ago we blew a 5 seed and an 18 point lead to 'Nova. Last year in a 7-10 matchup, we choked against Michigan. Last year Mizzou made a run to the Elite 8 before falling to UConn.
At the end of the season, Clemson won five of seven in conference play, but it lost a big one on the last day of the season at Wake Forest that would have assured a bye in the first round of the ACC tournament. Then came a first-round defeat to N.C. State, which some observers thought played harder.
"I don't look at it that way," said assistant coach Ron Bradley. "I thought it was more a game of streaks, and they got the last one in on us. I can't look at it as they played harder than us."
Fair enough: He's a coach; he can't send that message. Purnell said Clemson played hard, "but I can't take anything away from N.C. State. They matched us; they played every bit as hard, or harder."
All of which makes you wonder if this team has a bit of stage fright. Knowing they are trying to build winning into a program that has had very little of it in more than a decade, can the big stage be too big? Too intimidating?
Travis Sawchik gives his 5 Keys to a Clemson Win: 1. Handle Pressure, 2. Potter plays ball on O, 3. Keep Grant out of foul trouble, 4. Booker show up, 5. the freshmen do something. I definitely agree with the last two and think we'll need either Noel or MJ to make some baskets for us.
"We have the advantage in the post, but we have to get the ball into the low post," Purnell said. "In this kind of game, it is hard to do because they will send two or three guys down there, and they are going to send guys at Trevor. But that is where your other guys have to make plays, and if you are a good team, you should make plays. We probably have more of a post presence on offense, because they are more of a kick-and-drive team than we are."
Now if Booker does something, I do think we'll be fine today. Missouri's Mike Anderson realizes that Trevor is not a vocal leader, one of my harshest criticisms of him.