Same ol’ Mizzou. That’s what it felt like — same ol’ Mizzou, the Tigers who just can’t pull it off, who let an important win slip out of their hands, who turn “Mizzou” into a verb.
Their game Saturday ended suddenly and sourly and with scrutiny. It still was a really good season. And coach Cuonzo Martin should keep his job, although Twitter sure tried to fire him Saturday night. But the No. 9-seeded Tigers lost in the first round of the NCAA Tournament, yet again, this time falling 72-68 to No. 8 Oklahoma. Mizzou hasn’t won a tournament game in more than a decade.
How did it end? The Indiana kid who was shooting like Jimmy Chitwood in “Hoosiers” dribbled the ball across half court in his home state, 15 seconds left, down by three points. But Mizzou’s Dru Smith passed the ball with eight seconds left — and never touched it again on the possession.
Kobe Brown had to make a split-second decision — hard to fault him, but at that moment he chose not to force a pass to Smith, who had made two 3s in the final minute. I watched the replay 10 times, over and over. From Brown’s angle, with a Sooner about to cut off the passing lane, maybe Brown could’ve thrown a bounce pass to Smith. Instead, Brown passed it to Drew Buggs ... who was fouled with 2.5 seconds left. Right first name, wrong guy. Brutal.
You don’t see that foul all the time. Credit coach Lon Kruger and Oklahoma for the gamble. Buggs made the first free throw, purposely missed the second. Mizzou couldn’t secure the rebound.
Wait, why was Drew Buggs even in the game? Where was Xavier Pinson?
That storyline just adds to the frustration of the loss. Pinson was on the bench. Pinson had played only 18 minutes. Pinson had made just one field goal. But he’d been in many clutch situations before.
Why wasn’t Pinson in down the stretch?
“I think really we got into a flow with Buggs, we got back in the game with Buggs, and it just went from there,” Martin said in the postgame Zoom conference. “And I thought Buggs did a great job on both sides of the basketball.”
Buggs’ plus-minus on the night was minus-nine.
But Pinson did look out of sorts for much of the night.
And there were other ways Mizzou could’ve won this game (heck, Mizzou led with six minutes left). Brown attempted six 3 pointers, way more than he should’ve attempted. He made two. Oklahoma changed the complexion of the second half by making 3s. And Oklahoma seldom turned the ball over.
And so, it’s over. Mizzou lost seven of its final 10 games of the season. The Tigers have dropped their past six NCAA Tournament contests.
Now, it was a positive season, to be sure. The 16-10 Tigers had a winning percentage of .615, their best since 2013-14. And while making the tournament is the goal every season, and entering this season, it didn’t seem like this Mizzou team was a “tournament team.”
So, if anything, it was a nice surprise, early on, when Mizzou knocked off some teams that totally were “tournament teams.” Martin’s Tigers gave fans something to believe in, and it made for a fun ride — especially because expectations didn’t include any sort of ride. But there were the Tigers, cracking the Top 25. There were the Tigers, cracking the Top 10. There was Jeremiah Tilmon, asserting. There was Dru Smith, spearheading. There was Xavier Pinson, concocting. Mizzou basketball was revived. Mizzou basketball was relevant.
Of course, during the course of a season, you’re going to lose some games. And they sure did in some maddening ways — but at least it meant the games mattered. Still, goodness, one or two more wins and they wouldn’t have ended up in the vortex that is the game with 8-9 seeded teams.
Because even if Mizzou won Saturday, the Tigers would’ve faced the No. 1 overall team in the tournament, Gonzaga, in their next game.
As for Martin, the coach has made the tournament twice in his four years at the helm. In the previous three years, Mizzou had averaged nine wins per year. Think about that. Averaged nine wins in three years before he arrived. Martin is building something. But if he’s going to take the next step next year, he’s going to need to rely on Pinson, a senior-to-be. And Pinson will have to be more reliable.
As for the current seniors, credit Tilmon for bouncing back in the NCAA Tournament (16 points, 12 rebounds, two blocks) after a soft Southeastern Conference tournament. And hey, even Mark Smith got a little redemption, hitting three 3s in the first half Saturday.
But Dru Smith was the pacer in Indiana. He drove Mizzou in key stretches. He made six 3-pointers, the most he’d ever made in a game, in what was his final game. He kept hustling. He kept hope alive. He hit those two 3s within the final minute, then got credit for a block to get Mizzou the ball in the final ticks.
But when he passed the ball, he never got it back on the possession.
It’s over.
March sadness is in our state that is in a state of frustration.
