Missouri's offensive woes on display as miserable season comes to a close
Missouri's woeful offense couldn't find the extra gear it needed to survive in the SEC tournament.
The Tigers failed to even match their ugly season averages in a 63-54 loss to South Carolina, in the process setting a school record with 23 losses in coach Kim Anderson's first year. Mizzou hadn't lost as many as 18 games since it went 3-22 in 1966-67, the final season before legendary coach Norm Stewart took over.
Johnathan Williams III hit a 3-pointer to end a field-goal drought of close to nine minutes with 10 seconds left, far too late to save the Tigers. They finished the night shooting 36 percent from the field with 15 turnovers and scored six fewer points than their season average in SEC play.
As usual, it wasn't that Missouri struggled to get good looks against South Carolina's aggressive man-to-man defense, especially early in the game. The young Tigers simply couldn't hit shots and dug themselves a 13-point hole before a 7-0 run to end the first half.
Their glaring lack of jump shooters showed up even more in the second half, when they made no field goals other than layups for more than 18 minutes. It's easy to see why zones worked so well against the Tigers, who made just four of 16 shots from beyond the arc.
A rough two-for-10 night for Williams left Mizzou with no threatening shot creators, which often means bad offense gets even worse down the stretch. That's been especially true since the Tigers lost Wes Clark, a sophomore guard who showed significant growth as a leader and scorer before he went down with a shoulder injury Feb. 10.
Anderson could perhaps take some solace in the fact that the Tigers played with enough energy and resilience to cut the lead to two in the second half and outrebounded one of the SEC's best rebounding teams 35-26. Every so often, Mizzou's offense would execute well to get a backdoor layup or easy baskets in transition.
But that will rarely be enough for the Tigers to win games in the SEC. When Anderson looks for ways to improve his team this offseason, finding more shooters should be high on the list.
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3-POINTERS
• Freshmen still growing. Their first season is in the books, and improvement seems both possible and desperately needed.
Montaque Gill-Caesar, Jakeenan Gant and Namon Wright all look like capable scorers when they're at their best, but that happened far too rarely. Tramaine Isabell showed signs of the great vision that makes a solid point guard, but his lack of offense and ability to penetrate consistently leave much to be desired.
Gill-Caesar committed a team-high five turnovers against the Gamecocks and Wright added three more, highlighting the biggest problem for the two guards. Gant's remarkable athleticism and energy still appear to ebb and flow throughout games, even though he finished with six points and two rebounds in 15 minutes.
D'Angelo Allen would have to be considered the biggest disappointment of the group, especially considering he received offers from Oklahoma, Arkansas and others before committing to Anderson. The 6-foot-7 forward ended his season in a dismally fitting manner, failing to score for the fifth time in his last six games.
• Rosburg finishes strong. The Tigers' most experienced player gave them a rare boost inside to maintain some hope.
Ryan Rosburg worked his way back from an awful start to the season to become a decent reserve, capable of putting up points when he doesn't try to do too much. South Carolina gave the strong 6-10 forward some openings, and he took advantage with nine points and two rebounds.
He even made his first three free throws, a remarkable accomplishment for a player who entered the night shooting 29.3 percent from the line. Rosburg will always be limited by his lack of athleticism, but he could still become a valuable physical presence off the bench as a senior.
• One last suspension. Keith Shamburger joined Missouri's long list of suspended players when he missed a start for the first and only time in his one-year Tiger career.
The senior point guard came off the bench with 14:36 left in the first half and scored six points with four assists in 19 minutes. He became the 10th player to earn a suspension for disciplinary reasons since Anderson took over last April.
That includes sophomores Torren Jones and Cameron Biedscheid, both of whom were kicked off the team before the season began. All five true freshmen missed at least one game due to suspension. Williams, Rosburg and Keanau Post were the only scholarship players to avoid punishment.
You can follow Luke Thompson on Twitter at @FS_LukeT or email him at lukegthompson87@gmail.com.
