This story was written entirely by our new staff writer, RON DAVIS
Three games into the Kim Anderson era, the Missouri Tigers stand 2-1. The Tigers looked impressive in their win against Oral Roberts on Wednesday, but looked very shaky in a win versus Valparaiso and lost in the season opener, dropping a 69-61 contest to UMKC.
These first three games were considered “warm-up” games before traveling to Maui, and facing by far their biggest test: the No.2 ranked Arizona Wildcats.
Nov 19, 2014; Columbia, MO, USA; Missouri Tigers head coach Kim Anderson reacts during the first half against the Oral Roberts Golden Eagles at Mizzou Arena. Mandatory Credit: Dak Dillon-USA TODAY Sports
The Wildcats are 3-0 and have won each game by at least 17 points, though it’s fair to say Missouri will be the best team Arizona has seen all year as well. They have beaten the likes of Mount St. Mary’s, Cal State Northridge, and UC Irvine en route to their 3-0 start.
If Mizzou wants to pull the upset on Monday, they’ll need to get off to a good start. In all three games the Tigers found themselves trailing early, and against a talent-heavy team like Arizona, they need to stay in the game from the opening tip.
The key to the Missouri offense will be run through sophomore point guard Wes Clark. Clark had arguably his best game since coming to Columbia versus Oral Roberts with 14 points and dishing out 9 assists. If Clark can distribute the ball to leading-scorer Teki Gill-Casear and feed Jonathan Williams III down-low in the post as well as create his own shot, the Tigers could make things interesting on the offensive end.
On defense, the young Tigers will have their hands full with Brandon Ashley, Rondae Hollis-Jefferson, and versatile freshman Stanley Johnson. Both Ashley and Hollis-Jefferson have scored in double figures in every game and Hollis-Jefferson is coming off his best performance of the young season with a 19 point game against UC Irvine.
South Bound & Down
Kentucky is the No.1 ranked team in the country, and they proved how good they are last Tuesday by dominating against Kansas. Arizona is ranked just behind them, and Kim Anderson is excited for his team to face Wildcats, but he knows how big of a challenge it will be, “I hope two is not close to one,” Anderson said.
The Tigers will need to start fast, and play hard on both ends of the floor if they want to have a chance of pulling the upset. Regardless of the outcome, Mizzou will continue on in the Maui Invitational and face either Kansas State or Purdue.