Tigers Shine in Spotlight, Knock Off Villanova

Through the first seven games of the season, the Mizzou basketball team had shown an incredible level of selflessness and team chemistry en route to a perfect start under new head coach Frank Haith that had never been seen before with this group while Mike Anderson was at the helm. They caught the nation’s attention with a beat down of Notre Dame, and followed it up by setting a school record for largest margin of victory against a ranked opponent when they beat 18th ranked Cal by 39.

But for the first time, they took their talents away from the state of Missouri to the spotlight of New York City and Madison Square Garden when they faced Villanova Monday night in the JimmyV Classic. Although you could argue that the Tigers were on national tv and in a big tournament when they won the CBE Classic, they were playing close to home in Kansas City in front of a partisan Mizzou crowd. Being located in Philadelphia, Villanova fans encompassed much of the arena, and created more of a road environment for the Tigers to deal with.

However, the Tigers were able to focus on the task at hand and put away the pesky Wildcats 81-71. Many times when teams roll into The Garden for non-conference invitationals, the mature squads who play smart basketball are the ones who emerge victorious. A couple weeks ago, Kansas, despite being ranked highly in the preseason, looked overmatched and unprepared for their battle with Kentucky. This example showed how difficult it is for a team to maintain focus and stay disciplined while playing on such a prestigious court. The Tigers, however, looked just as sharp and confident as in their previous games, all while being able to control their emotions and stay grounded at the same time. Of course, Villanova is nowhere near the level of Kentucky, but are always a formidable bunch under coach Jay Wright and have lots of experience playing in The Garden.

Offensively, the Tigers started a bit slow, as many of the shots that had been falling over the last couple of weeks simply weren’t. However, the swarming defense they employed kept the Wildcats off-balance and the score even. Late in the first half, Mizzou began to feed the ball inside to Ricardo Ratliffe for high-percentage looks, and opened up a 13 point halftime lead as a result. And with 12:23 left in the second half, it looked as though the Tigers were ready to blow away the Wildcats, as they led 61-45. But, as mentioned earlier, Jay Wright’s bunch always fights to the end, and began making some adjustments on the offensive end. When Kim English was forced to leave the game with four fouls, Villanova was able to briefly shift the momentum, and was within five points at the five minute mark.

For the Tiger fans who were waiting to see how their team would handle this kind of adversity, they came away awfully impressed. Mizzou beared down defensively, and took smart shots on the offensive end. In previous years, they had a tendency to let up and become passive once the opposition started to make a run. But on this night, their maturity shone through, and made it apparent how special this team can be.

With three remaining home games against non-conference foes before battling 22nd ranked Illinois on December 22nd in St. Louis, the Tigers must do the obvious: Avoid any potential for a letdown and remain unselfish. At times, the Tigers settled for a few too many outside shots, and can do a better job of feeding the ball inside. After all, Ratliffe was a perfect 8 for 8 from the field tonight, is now 30 for 32 over his last four games, and clearly knows what to do once he gets the ball in the paint. But besides that, there isn’t a whole lot to be critical of, as this team continues to impress night in and night out. Now, many college basketball fans and experts around the nation are aware of the potential this team has, and until we see otherwise, there is no reason to believe that they won’t sustain their high level of play.