It was just weeks ago when Mizzou basketball was the toast of the town. The hardwood Tigers boasted an influx of talented newbies, most notably all-world freshman Michael Porter Jr. and incoming Coach Cuonzo Martin. Mizzou hoops fans had visions of statues, NCAA brackets and championship banners dancing in their heads.
Meanwhile, the Mizzou football team was down in the dumps. After a harder-than-expected 72-43 victory in the season opener versus Missouri State, Missouri was outscored 210 to 92 in five consecutive, and embarrassing, losses. Sitting at a measly 1-5, patience was wearing thin for Barry Odom and his bad news Tigers. Fans were calling for the coach’s head after watching the terrible team bumble, stumble and fumble its way through game after game.
What a difference a month can make.
Fast-forward to the present day and the widespread panic has shifted to Martin’s Tiger team due to Porter’s strange, secretive injury saga and a tooth-and-nail battle (at home) with Division II powerhouse punching bag Emporia State. Now that the university has announced that Porter will have surgery and will likely miss the remainder of the season, the fear is even greater.
Outside of Mizzou Arena, the football Tigers have managed to turn things around significantly, winning five consecutive games to become bowl eligible for the first time since 2014. According to ESPN, Missouri is only the second team in SEC history to become bowl eligible after a 1-5 start. So how exactly did Odom manage to plug up the holes in the sinking ship that was the 2017 season and get the Tigers back afloat?
First off, we must acknowledge the change in schedule difficulty. The first half of the season featured matchups against traditionally-ranked teams such as Auburn, Georgia and South Carolina. The second half has featured more favorable matchups against average Joes like Vanderbilt, Idaho and Connecticut.
The softer schedule isn’t the sole reason for the Tigers’ success. During the second half of the season, the team has finally begun living up to its #DLineZou moniker. Over the course of the team’s five game winning streak, the Mizzou defense has helds its opponents to just 98.4 yards rushing per game. The defensive line has also made plenty of big plays, such as Terry Beckner Jr.’s game-sealing interception versus Vandy.
On the offensive side of the football, there’s been no bigger catalyst than QB Drew Lock. Lock leads the NCAA in touchdown completions with 38 on the season, compared to just 10 interceptions. He sits 11th in passing yards with 3,247. If it wasn’t for the Tigers terrible start to the season, Lock might be in the conversation for the Heisman trophy. He’s certainly shooting up on NFL draft boards with each passing week.
The Tigers certainly hope to see the gunslinger return next year for his senior season. However, if he continues his stellar play and the Tigers team wins its next two games, the calls from agents and NFL GMs could become too difficult to resist.
The quarterback play isn’t the only highlight of the Mizzou offense during its winning streak. The run game has been impressive also. Senior RB Ish Witter has been tearing it up lately. In addition to having an awesome first name, in three Nov. games, Witter has racked up 401 yards and a whopping average of 7.0 yards per carry. Freshman Larry Roundtree III has added 291 yards during the same stretch, on 6.1 yards per carry.
Of course, if the quarterback and running backs are playing well, it has to mean that the offensive line is doing its job as well. Overall, the Tigers have gone from a listless, lethargic team to a confident, swag-filled squad in just a few weeks. Meanwhile, Odom has gone from the hot seat to hot shot.
The Tigers will finish out the regular season this Friday versus the 4-7 Arkansas Razorbacks. With another victory, the Tigers could be headed to the Liberty Bowl or the TaxSlayer Bowl.
Kyrie and LeBron on collision course
Before the season began, everybody presumed that the Cleveland Cavaliers and Boston Celtics would battle for Eastern Conference supremacy. Then Celtics forward Gordon Hayward was lost for the season with a nasty ankle injury and many people downgraded Boston’s chances. Meanwhile in Cleveland, LeBron James looked as if he was playing with a team full of drunken relatives right after Thanksgiving dinner.
You know who I’m talking about – the uncle, or older cousin that you call uncle, that swears he was All-City back in ‘85. The same one who yells out the window, “Don’t make me come out there and show you my moves,” but never seems to move too far from the couch. James was playing with him, actually four of him. The Cavs lost five out of six games after a 2-0 start, including four in a row.
I always caution people to be patient when dealing with teams with large roster turnover. It almost always takes time for the new acquisitions to gel, even when the incoming players are better than the outgoing ones. It happened when James went to Miami. It happened again when he returned to Cleveland.
Now, both the Celtics and the Cavs are back into their grooves. The Cavs have won five straight games and sit in fourth place in the Eastern Conference. Behind the strength of the best coach in basketball, Brad Stevens, the Celtics have proven to be an exception to the rule regarding rocky starts for teams with a high roster turnover. The Celtics have rattled off 16 consecutive victories after an 0-2 start. The streak includes a 92-88 victory over the Golden State Warriors.
Some will call me crazy for anointing Stevens as the best coach in the league when there’s a guy named Gregg Popovich roaming the sidelines. Still, the Celtics have improved every year of Stevens’ tenure and it appears that trend will continue, even without Hayward. Now Stevens just needs some postseason success to cement his status.
Kyrie Irving is trying his hardest to make that happen. Irving has put himself in the mix in the race for MVP alongside James, Giannis Antetokounmpo, James Harden and Stephen Curry.
The fact that both James and Irving are both in the MVP conversation as well as leading their teams as the only true contenders in the East, means that exciting days are ahead.
Follow Ishmael and In the Clutch on Twitter @IshmaelSistrunk
