Missouri basketball seeks second straight win in Athens, Georgia
After a home win over South Carolina that snapped a four-game losing streak and produced 38 combined points from Torrence Watson and Kevin Puryear, Missouri (13-15, 4-12 Southeastern Conference) heads back on the road for a matchup with the Georgia Bulldogs (11-18, 2-14 SEC) at 5:30 p.m. Wednesday in Athens, Georgia.
The last time the Tigers saw the Bulldogs was March 8, 2018, when Georgia bounced MU from the first round of the SEC Tournament. But this year’s Georgia team, under new coach Tom Crean, has regressed heavily, sitting second-to-last in the SEC.
Georgia is ranked 102nd by both KenPom and NET, but it’s coming off a strong road win over a Florida team sitting on the NCAA Tournament bubble. The Bulldogs are favored by 3.5 points against Missouri as of Tuesday.
Below are three matchups to watch as Missouri goes for its second straight win.
Jeremiah Tilmon vs. Nicolas Claxton
Georgia is a team with a lot of weaknesses, but it does manage to score some points - 73.4 per game, eighth in the SEC and almost seven more than Missouri.
The Bulldogs use a balanced scoring attack: six players average at least 6.8 points per game. Chief among those players is 6-foot-11 sophomore Nicolas Claxton, who scores 13.2 points per game.
Claxton was a big factor in UGA’s win in Gainesville, Florida, on Saturday, scoring 25 points, a game high. He also played efficiently, shooting 9-of-12 from the field and even going 2-of-2 from deep. According to hoop-math.com, just 21 percent of Claxton’s shots come from 3-point range, but he’s shown an ability to score from deep and spread the floor.
“Claxton has really emerged, and they’re doing a lot of different things: spreading him out, creating mismatches and advantages for him off the dribble,” MU coach Cuonzo Martin said Tuesday. “He’s talented at 6-11. He can make plays, get to the rim, posting up. They’ll put four other guards around him with him on the floor, and that can create a tough matchup for you.”
This means another tough matchup for Jeremiah Tilmon, who will go to battle with Claxton down low. In a season of peaks and valleys, Tilmon is currently deep in one of the latter, scoring just 7.4 points per game over his last five. He’s also fallen back into foul trouble, as he’s fouled out of three of those five.
Tilmon has the height and frame to go head-to-head with Claxton. It’s just a matter of staying on the floor.
Two turnover-prone teams
Missouri has proven it’s quite liable to turnovers, but contrary to what many might believe, the Tigers aren’t the worst in the SEC in the category.
No, that honor goes to Georgia, which turns the ball over 15.9 times per game. That’s over a full turnover per game more than MU, and the Bulldogs are tied for 333rd nationally.
This provides ample opportunity for Missouri, which has had more turnovers than its opponent in 11 of 16 SEC games this season.
The Tigers have turned the ball over 15 times in each of their past two games, and the main culprit has been Jordan Geist. The senior bears big responsibility with a 23.1 percent usage rate, first on Missouri, but he’s committed eight giveaways over the past two contests.
Luckily for Missouri, two Bulldogs, Claxton and Rayshaun Hammonds, average at least 2.0 turnovers per game.
Cuonzo Martin vs. Tom Crean
Martin and Crean are both newcomers to their current SEC programs. Martin is in his second year in Columbia after leading the Tigers to the Big Dance in his first, while this is Crean’s first year in Athens.
Despite some questionable antics, Crean has had quite a successful career, reaching the NCAA Tournament nine times over his time with Marquette and Indiana. He also led the Hoosiers to the Sweet Sixteen three times and the Golden Eagles to the Final Four in 2003.
Martin is in his 11th year as a Division I head coach, but Wednesday will be his first matchup with Crean.