Mizzou@indiana

[buckeye fan]

Well when I first thought about this game i figured that mizzou would be a 10+ point favorite. However, after a little bit of introductory research i see that the #4 team in the country has struggled mightily against some mediocre opponents. Coppin St. has been a decent team in years past, but i question whether or not mizzou should have to come from behind against a team of that caliber. Addtionally mizzou only beat a weak oakland team by 5 points.. Also, Quinn Snyder has been very disappointed with his teams lack of hustle and overall performance so far this season.

All that being said, Indiana is still very weak.. The question is how good is Mizzou? Can they live up to their #4 billing. The line i just saw had Mizzou -5 and at first look was fishy. Now i think it is set about right considering the weakness that Mizzou has shown against weak opponents. However, if mizzou comes to play i think they cover the #.

Here is some info that I found on cbssportsline that gives a little insight on MIzzou so far this year.

Tigers report: Getting inside Dec. 5, 2003

Notes, quotes | Strategy and personnel
Management of the basketball was an issue for Missouri in its first two games. Despite being ranked among the nation's top five, the Tigers committed 39 turnovers in their first two games and each time had 14 in the first half.
This would be a difficult total to accept against a Big 12 foe, let alone Oakland and Coppin State, which each used a variety of zones to fluster the Tigers on their home floor.

"Teams that probably people ain't never heard about are giving us great runs," guard Jimmy McKinney said.

"I'm a little disappointed because I thought we could play better. But we played two good teams. I don't care if they're not known, if they're not ranked, whatever."

Those type of ranked opponents will soon creep on to the Missouri schedule. The Tigers must get into a better flow offensively by then, though coach Quin Snyder is rightfully concerned about his team's defensive lapses.

Many of the problems the Tigers have come off lack of hustle. They're not getting through screens and are also getting beat off the dribble.

In time, they should work out these problems. They're too good not to.

Anyway right now lean: mizzou -5 2 units
All comments welcome.

 

[gman2]

big time pride/statment game for indiana. if they dont respond with a gutty effort coming off a 33-pt ass-kicking, id be surprised. hoosiers nothing to write home about and missouri is talented, but tigers have never been strong on the road and indy coming off a massacre. way too tough a game for me, but indy winning wouldnt shock me

 

[buckeye fan]

I agree that this is a statement game, but they really are about as bad as 30 point losers To WF. this is not like teams of old at Indiana. I really think that Mike Davis may be proving that he cannot coach because this team looks really lost. My buddy is a 2nd year walk on as a senior. He told me last night at the bar that Strickland is the main problem with the offense because he does not really know how to get it going. If u watch the games closely one would notice that every team is overplaying the wings and denying the ball out front because they have no respect for our post player's, and rightfully so because they are pathetic. Ewing may be good one day, but he looks like he needs a good deal of work. Anyway this could be one of those games where the atmosphere of assembly could get the team the W or the cover, but As i said earlier this is not like any indiana team in recent past and I dont think they have a coach who can make adjustments adn win games. They look very confuesd adn lost out there. Only bright spot is Bracey who is an unreal shooter.

 

[gman2]

buckeye fan:

just goes to show how fickle alumni and critics are. from an unbiased perspective, when did mike davis become a bad coach? hes taken some teams deep into the ncaas and was lauded as a great coach only a year or two ago. hes not genius, but he sure as hell aint a bad coach imo. :shrug:

 

[moeclarrett]

Nice write up Buckeye, I think you are right on.

I had Mizzouri giving 8 -10, even with their weak play to date. I think they took Oakland and Coppin st. very lightly and relied on their home court advantage and basic overriding skill to win those games as opposed to a well coached team preparing for those games (though I didn't get to see those games). I think Mizzou has the talent to hang in the national lime light all season and though Snyder has not shown his true coaching skill yet this season, I am sure he knows what he is facing tomorrow in the Hoosiers.

I attend IU as well and and very familiar with this team. Fact is...the STINK. As Buckeyefan said before, they are nothing like any team we've had in the past 10 years. They have young talent in Wright and Ewing Jr., but those guys are young, inexperienced and lack a supporting cast to allow them to excel like they should/can. In the game against Wake, as Buckeye mentioned, the guards were pressured up front and were met well ahead of the three point line, preventing any kind of solid entry pass. I believe Quinn Snyder will form a similar strategy, as the IU back court is barley decent at best. If Davis attempts to have Wright run the point again tomorrow, the hoosiers will probably loose by 15-20.

One factor that cannot be forgotten is the crowd in Assembly Hall. It will be loud and the diehard fans always show for a big time opponent like Mizzou. It will be the only other overridding factor in this game along with Mizzou's weak play this far. The fans will be there, as will I on the court side so only time will tell.

I've been seeing lines anywhere from 4 - 2.5. I thought 5 was a great line, so be weary. I sense a trap, but know IU and researching Mizzou tells me that the lean is Mizzou here. I'm hitting them for 2 units at 4, but I'lll be looking to the offshores tomorrow to see how much lower i can get it.

 

[genosays]

Olympic has -3 now ....

Olympic has -3 now ....

Was also just looking at tomorrow's games and this one jumped right out at me .... not a Mizzou fan by any means (KU Jayhawk grad), but they are only giving 3 points to Hoosiers?? May have to unload on this one unless someone can talk me out of it .... can't understand the line here as Tigers should win by double digits tomorrow IMO .... of course the old theory about if it looks to good to be true it probably is could apply. Good luck.

 

[moeclarrett]

Mike D

Mike D

On a side note, in response to Gman calling IU fans fickle for not having support in Davis, I think you give Davis too much credit. No one in Bloomington is calling for his neck, but the fact is, Davis took Bobby Knight's team to the Finals in 2001, not his own team. He seems to live and die by the three and does not emphasize the importance of an inside game. Jefferies covered up a lot of Davis' weakness, as did coverdale and some of the other sharp shooters like Hornsby on the perimeter and Newton down low (and he wasn't even that good).

Davis to me seems like Randy Ayers at OSU in the 90s. He is a great recruiter and can coach a team that was assembled by a great coach (Ayers from Gary Williams took the buckeyes deep in the tourney as a 1 seed, Davis a runner up from Knight). This year the Hoosiers have no future. They will flounder in the Big Ten and Davis will have his hands full. Hopefully he can show his true colors and turn this team around. A bright spot is the incoming recruting class which is the top ranked class in the nation, so we will see what he can do with some real talent in the next few years.

 

[Nickelback]

Ok, who has Missouri beaten this year? Is everyone simply taking a look at their ranking and expecting them to be a great team? beat Oakland by 5 and Coppin St by 9.

Unload on an unproven team if you want. . . this looks like trap city to me. Everyone saw Indiana fall hard to Wake Forest so now all the sudden they are flat out horrible but who has seen Missouri?

 

[moeclarrett]

I'm most definitly not suggesting anyone unload on this game. I'm just trying to help everyone out here with some info on IU. I agree that Mizzou has beaten no one, and that is a huge factor in capping this game, but look at IU, who have they beat...UNC Greensboro?, and they barely escaped Xavier. Vandy had their way, and the Wake game was a joke

By the way, Iu has no one to stop Arthur Johnson. Eric Williams of Wake had his way down low and had a career high 25. Johnson should put up similar numbers as well.

 

[genosays]

Nickelback, being a Kansas fan normally I would be saying the same thing as far as who has Missouri beat?? However have seen their first 2 games on TV and although the Tigers have looked sluggish in both close wins, talent difference and depth is to much against Hoosiers IMO .... granted I don't know alot about IU this year except dreadful performance the other night vs. Wake Forest .... with Indiana center Leach out (right??) don't see how Hoosiers can hang in this one though .... thanks for the input as this could indeed be a trap and probably shouldn't be "unloading" this early in the college hoops season .... would really piss me off if I lost big on Missouri.

 

[buckeye fan]

look... here is what i'm saying.. the deal is that IU sucks, the question is how bad i smizou and can they come into a hostile environment such as assembly and put IU on thier ass. Personal opinion is yes. Paulding and johnson especdially have a field day inside.

Nickel I agree it looks like a trap which is why i will not unload here. 2 units is about the play im looking for here. The spot would look better if mizzou had shown anything so far this year, but they havent so.. still leaning mizzou for 2.

 

[countinguy]

not touching the game.

This game screams mizzou and that scares me off of it all together.

The coaching is not bad at IU, it is Leach being out w/ankle prob that caused the big loss last week. Which he will still be out tomorrow but mizzou is walking into one of the most hostile home courts in the country. The fans and REFS, I mean REFS, are all favoring IU. Especially after an asskicking last weekend, would not be surprised at all if IU pulls this one outta there ass and wins somehow. I am not on it one way or the other, just giving u my opinion on the game.

But BLOOMINGTON is god's country for Basketball, just remember that!!

Just my opinion!
Countinguy and GL TO U!!

 

[buckeye fan]

thanks for the post countinguy..I would just like to add that one thing the average fan who does not watch all of these game does not realize is that Leach getting hurt is actually a blessing for this team.. The dude is really not good and had not cut it when given the chance, so this will just give the young guys like ewing and Allen-gray, who should not be playing at all a shot. Ewing will be the real deal, but allen grey should not be on the floor.

One area where i agree with all of the repsonses is that this line screams Mizzou and that scares me a lot, which is why i will make a small play on the game. sure appears to be a possible trap line because i realy thought it would be more like mizzou -8-10

 

[countinguy]

I can't agree w/u on that, ewing jr, and grey allen putting them in center position is gonna help iu. Ewing will be good, but I really don't think is ever gonna be center material. Ewing is a forward as always will be in my opinion. As far as grey allen completely agree w/u should prob will be sitting the bench most of the time. IU will have a rough time tomorrow but I think the fans will be pumped so high they will get the win somehow. If Moye just calms his shooting down to more solid shots and Bracey quits thinking he is a one man team, they will go far this year.

 

[countinguy]

Something else I wanna ask u, cause it is bugging me!!

A buckeye fan in Bloomington, bet u don't advertise that??

I gotta a buddy I work w/in Lafayette, that is a IU fan, that owns liquor stores in Lafayette, w/IU Plates, that guys got BIG BALLS!! He get's harassed all football season long.

GL on Saturday!!

 

[buckeye fan]

countin... Im a senior at IU but I am from Columbus Ohio. Have lived in Columbus all 22 years of my life, hence the very strong allegiance to teh buckeyes. And yes everyone here yells at me when i talk big about the bucks, but I am a season ticket b-ball holder for the bucks and will always be a huge fan. I live about 10 minutes from the OSU campus so there is the reasoning. Oh yea, I also saw your post for tomorrows card and I like Va Tech tomorrow. I see the bucks winning but more in the 5-8 pt range was what I was thinking. May lay a small play on Va Tech along with my small play on Mizzou.
Also, with regards to Ewing he is w/o a doubt a forward, but you know how these 3 gurad offenses work in college and that basically leaves him with the role of a center. Also, little commentary on Moye. Nor sure what has happened to him in the last couple of years. I agree with you he looks very anxious, and im not sure if he has the ability to get on track or not like he did as a freshman and sophomore, but he is not playing well right now. I will be looking closely at line movement etc.. for tomorrow.

 

[Buckman]

Read the whole thread.......very interesting All I know is that Quinn Snyder has cost me alot of money over the years. I like Mizzou but will stay away......FWIW...Sometimes is seems his teams don't play with the intensity you would expect teams of that caliber to play.....I don't know it's just an feeling......


Take care

Bucky

 

[Home Wrecker]

I will start my own thread on this one, but I must say that even though I have expressed my dissatisfactions and frustrations with this years Hoosier team, which I am ok with any TRUE Hoosier fan doing....because it is my firm belief that it only shows the level of love for a particular team with all the expressed opinions.....that being said, nothing pisses me off more then when fans or people who claim to be fans start sounding the horn 4 games into the season and the blame goes toward the coach! True in many situations the coaching can be questioned, but come on, this years team is starting 3 solphmores and 2 freshmen right now! As far as Davis not being a coach who makes adjustments???? That is so far off base it would take me two days to let out all my madness at that comment....I would only question where your head has been in the last 3 years? He is all about adjustments, watch the adjustments he made this week in practice (defensively) after watching the Wake tape. He is now preaching to front your men and take away the pass which will cause for lob passes that will allow for our defensemen to leap to defend as well as help side to get there if the pass is completed. The Hoosier problem is not only defending the big man right now, but turnovers are killing them as well, 22 (5 by Bracey Wright) last week. They have to have a point guard step up and start penetrating to create scoring opportunities....and do so without turnovering the ball....strickland is this guy, he just needs to settle down and quit trying to score as much....Anyway, I could go on forever but need to get back to capping the games.....its tough for me to take anything too seriously from guys who go by the alias buckeye fan and moeclarrett? The last time I checked Ohio State sure wasn't living up to expectations for their team early in this season either......


GL,

YAZ

 

[boilermaker]

not touching the game.

This game screams mizzou and that scares me off of it all together.

The coaching is not bad at IU, it is Leach being out w/ankle prob that caused the big loss last week. Which he will still be out tomorrow but mizzou is walking into one of the most hostile home courts in the country. The fans and REFS, I mean REFS, are all favoring IU. Especially after an asskicking last weekend, would not be surprised at all if IU pulls this one outta there ass and wins somehow. I am not on it one way or the other, just giving u my opinion on the game.

But BLOOMINGTON is god's country for Basketball, just remember that!!

Just my opinion!
Countinguy and GL TO U!!

CGuy , I can't beleive it. Your telling me IU gets calls at home.


THEY DON'T CALL IT THE HALL OF CALLS FOR NOTHING.

 

[buckeye fan]

ok wrecker well that was quite the rant and im really not going to get in a pissing match with you here. I am just trying to cap the game and pick a winner, not decide who is more faithful to there team or whose team is doing better. I played Va tech today +11 against the buckeyes, as i see a buckeye win but not by that much. The bucks have been pathetic so far this year, but what does that have to do with the rest of the post.

As for Davis you may be right, this is just my personal opinion about his coaching abilities. I was really happy when they hired him and thought they should have extended him sooner during that first season he was interim, but now i dont know how good of a coach he really is. Anyway, with 76% of the public on mizzou on one consesnsus site I am going to be very careful, this may end up being a 1 unit play, maybe 2 at max. Thanks for the input wrecker, and GL