COLUMBIA, Mo. — At the start of the season coach Cuonzo Martin believed Missouri had the goods to be an elite defensive team. That vision showed up in fits and starts the last four months.
On Saturday, in the Tigers’ final game of the regular season, only Alabama had the fits.
The Tigers unplugged the Southeastern Conference’s most electric offense in a 69-50 victory at Mizzou Arena, holding the Crimson Tide 33 points below their season average. Before they stepped on Norm Stewart Court on Saturday, the fewest points the Tide had scored all season was 67. Heck, they eclipsed 50 points in three halves this season — and had 47 in the first half against Missouri on Jan. 18.
But on Saturday, the Tigers clogged the driving lanes, closed out on shooters and protected their home floor with the kind of defense Martin expected all season.
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“I’d like to think we defended like we could and should defend consistently,†he said.
At this stage in the season, Martin will take what he can get from this mercurial team. Alabama made just four of its 25 shots from 3-point range, its worst percentage of the season under first-year coach Nate Oats. He called Saturday’s game his team’s worst offensive showing of the season. Alabama, a team that averages 11 made 3-pointers a game, rarely found breathing room on the perimeter.
“They’re a long, athletic team,†Oats said “When we go through the handshake line those guys look a little bit bigger and more athletic than what we got on the floor. . . . When you get long athletic wings and ‘bigs’ closing out on your shooters, that makes it tough to make shots.â€
On the other end of the floor Mizzou caught fire late, scoring on 13 consecutive possessions and 17 of the their final 18 possessions. The Tigers rarely looked like the methodical, plodding team that’s come to define Martin’s teams. Not Saturday. Mizzou scored 12 fast-break points and regularly outran the SEC’s fastest team.
“The first thing we talked . . . before the game started was run, run run,†Martin said. “You have to run because I was looking forward to the fact (Alabama) gets out and runs, so let’s get out and run. Because I think we’re better with transition baskets.â€
Add it up and Mizzou (15-16, 7-11 SEC) gave itself a chance for a first-round bye in next week’s SEC tournament in Nashville, Tenn. With Arkansas’ loss to Texas A&M and Mississippi’s loss to Mississippi State, the Tigers clinched the 10th seed and will open play Thursday night against No. 7 seed Texas A&M. The Aggies swept two games against Mizzou this season.
Short of cutting down the nets in Nashville for the automatic NCAA Tournament bid, Mizzou’s best-case postseason end game is a lengthy stay at Bridgestone Arena and earning an at-large invitation to the NIT.
For now, Martin has little interest in the seeding scenarios.
“It’s just basketball. I like playing games,†he said. “You put yourself in a situation so you have to deal with it, whatever that is. Whoever the opponent is, let’s roll. It’s time to play some ball.â€
With 10,047 on hand, a 10-0 run put the Tigers in front midway through the second half, followed by an 11-2 surge that buried the Crimson Tide for good. Mitchell Smith’s corner 3-pointer gave the Tigers their first double-digit lead, 56-44, and Mark Smith broke out of his shooting slump with three more 3s in the closing minutes. It was a big day for the Smiths on the box score: Dru Smith led the Tigers with 17 points and eight assists. Mark Smith finished with 13 and Mitchell Smith scored 10.
Kira Lewis Jr. led the Tide with 18 points but had seven turnovers. The Tigers held sharpshooter John Petty Jr., back after missing two games because of an elbow injury, to one point. With Javon Pickett swarming him most of the day, Petty missed all five of his field-goal attempts in 34 minutes. Petty led Alabama with 20 points in the first meeting in Tuscaloosa, a 14-point Tide victory.
“We were able to get into him and disrupt his comfort a little bit,†Dru Smith said. “And that was something that coach Martin had been on us watching the film back from our first game. We had let them be pretty comfortable out there on the perimeter.â€
The home finale had its feel-good moment, too. Playing his final home game, Mizzou center Reed Nikko got a thunderous ovation during pregame introductions and again when Martin took him off the floor in the game’s final minute.
At times overwhelmed by the response, Nikko joined his teammates in climbing into the student section to celebrate one last win at home.
“Coach told all of us to,†he said. “So I’m not going to argue with the man in charge.â€