Alabama State Tigers: Season Opener Preview

With two losses on its resume now, Missouri is seeking to get again on observe this week, starting with a house recreation towards Alabama State.

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The Tigers’ flaws bought uncovered after dropping a street recreation to Notre Dame, 76-71, and to Kansas, 80-60. Mizzou stays undefeated at dwelling, nevertheless, and can hope to maintain it that manner towards the Hornets. The crew may have to take action with out graduate senior guard Jayden Stone, coping with a hamstring damage, or junior ahead Trent Pierce, who’s but to play this yr with a lower-body damage.

Alabama State received the SWAC championship final season and defeated Saint Francis, 70-68, in a battle of No. 16 seeds within the First Spherical of the NCAA Match final season. The crew is at the moment on a three-game dropping streak, although, falling to Soutern Illinois-Edwardsville, New Mexico and Tennessee Martin. The Hornets’ wins to date this yr have come towards UAB, IU Indy and NCCAA college Virginia Lynchburg.

MU took an 82-65 dwelling win over Alabama State final yr. Head coach Dennis Gates expects to get the Hornets’ greatest shot this time round.

“(Hornets head coach) Tony Matlock does an ideal job,” Gates stated. “Coach (David “Dickey”) Nutt gave him his first job when he was a highschool coach going into the school ranks. He is been an assistant, affiliate head coach and a recruiting coordinator at Memphis, at Auburn and totally different locations, and behind plenty of success. So for me, taking part in towards a NCAA event crew, a crew that has received an NCAA Match recreation final yr, they will are available in with unbelievable combat, an unbelievable recreation plan. They’ve nice toughness, athleticism, they’ve nice rebounding. Their taking pictures capability and level of assault are all emphases, and we’ve to have the ability to offset that.”

TIP TIME INFORMATION

Who: Missouri (8-2) vs. Alabama State (3-6)

When: Thursday, December 11, 7 p.m. CT

The place: Mizzou Area, Columbia, Missouri

TV: SEC Community+

Collection: Missouri leads, 2-0

KenPom Prediction: Missouri 88, Alabama State 67

PROJECTED STARTERS

Missouri Tigers

Alabama State Hornets

BY THE NUMBERS

KEYS TO THE GAME

1) Keep disciplined on protection. Mizzou’s protection wasn’t as much as par towards both the Combating Irish or the Jayhawks. After giving up greater than 75 factors simply as soon as within the first eight video games of the season, the Tigers did so in each of their losses. Three-pointers have accounted for 40.7% of factors scored towards MU, the fourth-highest mark within the NCAA, and the Hornets have been a very good 3-point taking pictures crew, pulling down 35.9% of their triples. Sophomore wing Annor Boateng spoke about what the crew must do a greater job of on the defensive finish shifting ahead on Wednesday.

“Simply you understand, studying into the scout,” Boateng stated. “Simply making the trouble to do the little issues that we’ve to do. As a result of, particularly in street video games or like large matchups that we’ve, these little issues go a great distance. And we will not simply disregard them, particularly matchups like that.”

2) Take (and make) extra free throws. Whereas Missouri has continued to get to the stripe at a excessive clip, taking 42.3 foul pictures for each 100 discipline objective makes an attempt, which ranks sixtieth within the nation, it is also made simply 68.1% of its free throws. Alabama State has not achieved a very good job of avoiding contact, giving up a defensive free throw price of 39.0%, which ranks 252nd within the nation. Gates stated his objective each recreation is for the black and gold to make extra foul pictures than their opponent takes.

“I need to have the ability to lead the nation and be one of many prime groups within the nation at that,” Gates stated. “I feel having Ant Robinson — who must do a greater job at attending to the foul line (like he has in) years previous — he has to enhance his level of assault, he has to get to the road. Sebastian Mack has to get to the road and Mark Mitchell has to proceed to get to the road. Mark Mitchell is within the prime three, prime 4 guys within the nation in free throw makes an attempt. So I need to see the blokes that we recruited, along with retained, maximize what they’ve maximized in years previous and get there.

“The opposite factor is, I need them to make them. Ant Robinson’s share is not the place it must be with those he is taken. And the identical with Sebastian Mack. And I feel different guys have left some some alternatives on the board. We do an ideal job in observe engaged on these free throws and impacting the sport and we discuss concerning the emphasis. We simply gotta maximize the alternatives, identical to a few of our open pictures, open 3-point pictures.”

3) Keep sharp within the “center eight.” The tip of the primary half and the start of the second have been particularly expensive in every of MU’s two losses. Towards Notre Dame, a 12-point edge for the Tigers was flipped to a two-point lead for the Irish within the center portion of the sport. And towards Kansas, a one-point lead for the Tigers was was an eight-point deficit. Doing a greater job of closing out the primary half and popping out within the second with some urgency will go a great distance for Mizzou.

PREDICTION

The Tigers ought to be motivated to get again within the win column and I do not count on Alabama State to pose a lot of a problem. I feel Missouri wins, 92-66.

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