Preview: Mizzou Basketball Vs. Northwestern State

Tomorrow night at Mizzou Arena, the Tigers will look to stay hot as they battle the Demons of Northwestern State in their final game before a showdown with Villanova at Madison Square Garden next week. Many Mizzou fans are probably wondering where Northwestern State is even located, as well as how tough of a fight they will put up against the nation’s 13th best squad. So let’s take a closer look at the 4-3 Demons.

Not to be confused with Northwestern of the Big 10, the Demons reside in the Southland Conference, and play in Natchitoches, LA. Die-hard March Madness fans might recall NWSU’s 64-63 win over third seeded Iowa in the first round of the 2006 tournament on a buzzer beater by Jermaine Wallace, which clinched the shocking upset.

But this isn’t 2006, and the Demons are certainly not as dangerous anymore. Despite having a winning record, they have been blown out by the two decent teams on their schedule to this point (Cincinnati and Marshall). Like some of Mizzou’s other non-conference opponents, Northwestern State’s roster is very young, and has just one senior. However, that one senior, William Mosley, will present a low post presence and could challenge the bigs of the Tigers.

It seems as though a recent trend with analyzing these non-conference games has been to look at what will cause the greatest post threat to the Tigers. After all, nobody has come close to matching Mizzou’s guard play, and each team has struggled just getting the ball down low, as stingy defense from the Tigers has clamped down on opposing offenses. But for the Demons, the effectiveness of the 6′ 7″ Mosley will determine how long NWSU hangs around in this one. The big man’s presence will be a good test of how disciplined Ricardo Ratliffe, Steve Moore, and Kadeem Green are when handling low post pressure. Up to this point in the season, they have been smart in not fouling and instead forcing tough, contested shots.

The other main threat the Demons will bring to Mizzou Arena is junior point guard Shamir Davis, who leads the team in scoring with 12.3 points per game. It will be interesting to see how Davis handles fierce ball pressure from both Phil Pressey and Mike Dixon.

On the Mizzou side of the ball, everyone wants to know how long the Tigers can sustain their torrid shooting. So far, either Kim English or Marcus Denmon have been automatic from three-point range, and the superb ball movement from the guards have created good looks for everyone else. This team is truly in a groove right now, and expect them to stay in a loose, comfortable flow on offense, while maintaining intense defensive pressure. In the mean time, Demons fans might want to watch replays of that miraculous 2006 win over Iowa, because this one could get ugly quickly in favor of the Tigers.