NCAA Tournament: Missouri vs. Clemson Game Thread

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

KenPom Stat Rankings

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.

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.

"Although he probably didn't show, it (the loss to Michigan last year) made him mad," Devin said. "This NCAA tournament, it means a lot to him."

Trevor Booker's never been the rah-rah leader who uses his voice to motivate teammates. Missouri coach Mike Anderson found that out last summer when he worked with Booker in Colorado Springs, Colo., during tryouts for the United States team that competed in the World University Games.

"Well, he's strong, he's powerful, explosive," Anderson said. "I had a chance to work with him at the USA games in Colorado Springs, and of course, he made that team. I thought without a doubt, he's an impactful young man. He's a great, great person, and at the same time, he's a tremendous competitor, so I think, if there's something, when you talk about what makes him stand out, I think he's a competitor, he can score, and of course, he's been in tune to the way Oliver has been playing for the last four years, so he's their go-to guy.

"I think he's the ultimate competitor. He didn't back down from anybody. He was one of the better rebounders there. He just plays above the rim. He just utilizes his body in a great way, runs the floor and again, he's a quiet guy, but his game speaks for itself. I was very impressed with him. I really was."