Give credit to Frank Haith. The first-year coach at Missouri is the top candidate for coach of the year in the Big 12, and in no small part because he seems to always maintain proper perspective.
An 89-88 victory at Baylor on Jan. 21 was arguably the best win thus far for the Tigers, who climbed to 18-1 overall and 5-1 in the Big 12. They were ranked No. 5 going in, but the Bears were No. 3, playing on their home floor and looking to avenge a loss five days earlier at Kansas.
Yet Missouri was the more aggressive team, won the battle on the boards and also drew so many more fouls that it won the game with free throws despite making six fewer baskets.
So what was Haith's take afterward?
"No win, no loss is going to break us at this time of the year," he said coolly. "We're six games into it. We're 5-1. Hell of a start. Great. But we've got to get ourselves ... ready to go on the road."
Indeed, upcoming are trips to Texas Tech on Jan. 21 and Texas on Jan. 24. Yet the Tigers probably will be favored in both matchups based on the production they continue to get from a four-guard lineup that defies any potential mismatches.
Against Baylor, the Tigers were up against one of the most athletic, and longest, front lines in the country. Not only can the Bears get offensive production from all positions, but their length and quickness also makes their zone defense tough to crack.
Led by Phil Pressey at the point, however, Missouri found the right seams, took a 12-point lead into the final five minutes, then held on for a road upset that put the Tigers alone in second place behind Kansas in the Big 12. Not only have the Tigers mastered how to play without height, but they capitalize on the one big man who starts. Ricardo Ratliffe, a 6-foot-9 senior, continued to lead the nation in field-goal accuracy after going 11-for-14 for a career-high 27 points against the taller Bears.
"We understand that you can do things to combat (height) by using your speed and quickness and strength, getting low," junior guard Marcus Denmon said.
What the Tigers have discovered with Haith in charge makes them a Big 12 contender, especially after winning at Baylor.
While Missouri's offensive execution is brilliant at times, that punch often starts on the defensive end. The Tigers do not always bolt into transition, but they always look for such opportunities while pestering opponents as well as any Big 12 team. In an 89-88 victory at Baylor on Jan. 21, Missouri successfully disrupted the Bears, forcing 19 turnovers, including six off steals by Phil Pressey. The sophomore guard added 18 points, five rebounds and seven assists.
"We practice situations, then run sprints and get in shape for our offense," Pressey said of the Tigers' relentless attack. "It's the same thing with the defense. We just try to take our practice to the game, and when we do that, we'll be successful."
The contrast between good and bad days for F Ricardo Ratliffe can be traced to a two-week stretch on the calendar. On Jan. 7 at Kansas State, the only big man in the Missouri lineup played a season-low 14 minutes after a technical resulted in his fourth foul early in the second half. He contributed two points and one rebound, and the Tigers lost 75-59. Two weeks later, at Baylor, the 6-foot-9 senior scored a career-high 27 points on 11-of-14 shooting to exceed the .771 shooting percentage he carried into the game as the most accurate marksman in Division I.
"We talked about us not being able to win many games when he only plays 14 minutes and gets one bucket and one rebound," Missouri coach Frank Haith said. "So he knows how important he is, and his presence and what he needs to do to win."
The road victory at Baylor was the first for the Tigers against a top-five opponent since 1994, when they prevailed 81-74 at Kansas. Like the Jayhawks that season, the Bears lost a game earlier in the week when they tumbled at Kansas on Jan. 16, ending a 17-game unbeaten string to begin the season. That 1994 Missouri team finished 27-2.
17 -- Consecutive games in which F Ricardo Ratliffe missed three attempts or fewer, through his 11-of-14 performance at Baylor on Jan. 21.
"We understand we are vertically challenged. We're not a tall team. We have to be very technique-oriented and block out with physical block-outs as much as we can. We do have quickness and guys who can run down loose balls. This team has learned to not watch the ball when shots go up." -- Missouri coach Frank Haith.
The Cowboys failed to protect their home floor in a 66-58 loss against Kansas State, getting outrebounded by 21 boards in that Jan. 21 defeat. Oklahoma State is thin, and G Keiton Page takes a pounding attempting to use picks to find openings along the arc. The lack of production inside makes the Cowboys vulnerable. F Le'Bryan Nash is capable of helping Page net points, but he has been inconsistent as a freshman who was labeled a can't-miss prospect.
Youth is making it difficult for the Red Raiders to progress to a level that makes them competitive in the Big 12. Through an 0-6 start in conference play, four of their defeats were by double-digits, 13 against Baylor, 35 against Kansas, 13 against Texas A&M and 24 against Iowa State. F Jordan Tolbert was the most consistent performer, yet through Jan. 22, he had not led the Red Raiders in scoring since the Jan. 4 conference opener at Oklahoma State.
The sky is the limit for Missouri after winning at Baylor. The Tigers were extremely confident before that win, but after toppling the No. 3 Bears in Waco, they now realize they can contend with Kansas for the Big 12 title, which the Jayhawks have captured each of the last seven years. Nothing would be sweeter than leaving the conference with that crown, especially since Kansas has declared it would not play Missouri in any sport in response to the Tigers' move into the SEC.
Senior G Kim English encountered foul trouble in the Baylor game, yet he logged 27 minutes and scored 10 points on 4-for-8 shooting. He also had four assists before fouling out.
Junior G Mike Dixon led Missouri with 18 points in 26 minutes off the bench in a Jan. 16 win against Texas A&M.
Sophomore G Phil Pressey distributed seven assists against Baylor, giving him at least five assists in 12 of the past 14 games through Jan. 22.
