Connect with us

Missouri

Drake basketball overcomes shooting woes for 74-57 win over Missouri State in MVC matchup

Published

on

Drake basketball overcomes shooting woes for 74-57 win over Missouri State in MVC matchup


play

Freshman guard Kevin Overton got the Knapp Center rocking on Saturday. His contributions kept the Drake men’s basketball fans on their feet.

It started with two made free throws early in the first half, when Overton was fouled on his fast-break attempt.

Advertisement

With about five minutes left in the same period, Atin Wright grabbed a defensive rebound, dribbled to the other end and dished the ball to Overton. Through contact, he made his layup to push the Bulldogs 10 points ahead of Missouri State.

Then, midway through the second half, Overton capitalized on a bad pass by Donovan Clay. He picked up the steal, drove downcourt and tipped a layup into the basket to give Drake a 15-point lead.

Overton had a solid stat line in Drake’s 74-47 win over the Bears: 11 points, three rebounds, one steal. He was not the Bulldogs’ leading scorer, but he was the most consistently impactful player on both ends.

“I thought he was tremendous,” Darian DeVries said of Overton’s performance. “I think a lot of Donovan Clay, tremendous mismatch to try and guard … I thought (Overton) really battled, was able to get through screens and really competed on that side.”

Advertisement

Overton’s play — along with a 24-point performance from Tucker DeVries and a team effort on defense — helped Drake to a 2-0 start against MVC opponents and a 7-1 record overall.

“We came out with a lot of enthusiasm and ready to play, and we executed the game plan,” Tucker DeVries said.

Kevin Overton’s defensive prowess shines against Donovan Clay

The Bulldogs freshman guarded one player for most of Saturday’s game: Missouri State’s preseason All-MVC first-team selection, Donovan Clay.

Taking on one of the league’s best players is a tough assignment for any player, let alone a true freshman, and Clay had at least a three-inch size advantage.

Advertisement

“It’s definitely a challenge, (and) a step up from non-conference play,” Overton said.

Overton helped keep Clay to just nine points, six below his season average. Clay was 3-of-13 overall and made none of his four three-point attempts. He turned over the ball four times.

Overton, an Oklahoma City native, said during preseason that his defense was one of his biggest assets.

That was evident against Missouri State. If Overton continues to guard at a high level against some of the conference’s best players, he’s going to be a problem for opponents.

Advertisement

Good things happen when Drake controls the pace of the game

Missouri State never held the lead on Saturday.

“Defensively, we were pretty good,” Darian DeVries said. “Last year, at halftime, we were up similar to this year. And I thought this second half, we were a little better than last year. I thought Missouri State’s second half last year, (they) really came out and were the aggressor.

“Today, we were able to maintain our aggressiveness, we were able to keep the pace offensively, and I thought we were able to wear into them a little bit later in that second half.”

From the moment Tucker DeVries scored 18 seconds into the matchup, this was the Bulldogs’ game to lose. But despite another poor shooting night (43% from the floor, 22% from distance), Drake played its game at its tempo, and that kept the Bears at bay.

“At our pace, when we play at our pace, a lot of teams can’t stick, especially through the span of the game,” Overton said. “Controlling that pace is definitely important, especially in transition, after consecutive misses, we have to push the pace.”

Advertisement

A nearly 20-point victory is the result of Drake controlling the pace. This was the largest margin of victory against Missouri State in the Darian DeVries era. The largest overall was a 78-43 victory over the Bears on Feb. 22, 2015.

Should there be concerns about Drake’s three-point woes?

The Bulldogs’ success rate of 8.3% from three-point range on Nov. 25 was unsightly. Drake went 1-of-12 in that game against Texas Southern.

When the Bulldogs traveled to Valparaiso on Wednesday, there was improvement in the Bulldogs’ shooting from deep — 26.1%, 6-of-23 — but it still wasn’t at the level of last season. And on Saturday, the trend continued.

Drake made one of 12 attempts from beyond the arc in the first half, or 8.3% of the Bulldogs attempts. By the end of the game, they had improved that average to 22.2%, making 6-of-27 three-pointers.

Advertisement

Tucker DeVries admitted postgame that this was another poor shooting performance for the Bulldogs. But he’s not worried.

“I’m not concerned about anybody on our team missing shots,” Tucker DeVries said. “Obviously we’d like them to go in. But sometimes that’s basketball. I know K.O., myself, Atin, a lot of the other guys, we can really shoot the ball. I think as the season goes on, those numbers will start to balance themselves out. If we put that together with the defense we brought tonight, you’re gonna see an even better team.”

Drake went 37% overall from beyond the arc in the 2022-23 season. This year, the Bulldogs have made 34% of their three-point shots. Tucker DeVries was at 37% last season, and he’s at 31% through the first eight games.

But there’s plenty of season left for the Bulldogs to get their percentages where they want them to be.

“Baseball, hitters go through slumps,” Darian DeVries said. “Shooting’s the same way. We have really good shooters. I’m actually more excited about it, to be honest with you, that we’re able to win a few games here when we’ve not shot it very well, because I know how our guys can shoot it.”

Advertisement

Alyssa Hertel is the college sports recruiting reporter for the Des Moines Register. Contact Alyssa at ahertel@dmreg.com or on Twitter @AlyssaHertel.





Source link

Continue Reading
Advertisement
Click to comment

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Missouri

Missouri women fall at Auburn

Published

on

Missouri women fall at Auburn


AUBURN, Ala. — The Missouri Tigers fell into an early hole Sunday afternoon and couldn’t climb out in a 75-60 loss to the Auburn Tigers in SEC women’s basketball action.

Missouri never led in a game between two teams looking for their first conference win of the season. A 3-pointer by Grace Slaughter with around two minutes to go in the first quarter pulled Missouri to within a point at 12-11.



Source link

Continue Reading

Missouri

How to Watch: Mizzou Basketball at Texas

Published

on

How to Watch: Mizzou Basketball at Texas


The Missouri Tigers will hit the road again Tuesday, taking on the Texas Longhorns for the first time since the Big 12 Semifinal in 2012.

The transition to the Southeastern Conference has not been an easy one for Texas, only winning against their fellow newcomer, the Oklahoma Sooners.

But, Texas has been competitive in games against the top of the conference, losing by five to No. 1 Auburn and by four to No. 6 Tennessee.

Missouri will be riding in on a four game conference win streak. A win in Austin, Texas would tie Missouri’s longest conference win streak since joining the SEC in the 2012-’13 season.

Advertisement

Below is full information for the game, including streaming and radio details.

Who: Missouri Tigers (15-3, 4-1 SEC) at the Texas Longhorns (12-6, 1-4 SEC)

When: Tuesday, Jan. 21, 8 p.m.

Where: Moody Center in Austin, Texas

TV: SEC Network

Advertisement

Radio: Tiger Radio Network

Sirus XM: 389 or 84

Series History: Missouri leads 14-12

Last Meeting: March 9, 2012: Missouri moved past Texas in a 81-67 win to move to the Big 12 Championship. Phil Pressey and Kim English both scored 23 points in the win.

Last Time Out, Missouri: After taking a 18-2 lead in the opening minutes, the Tigers controlled the rest of the game in a 83-65 win over the Arkansas Razorbacks. Arkansas only took eight attempts from the free-throw line, with the Missouri defense focused on defending without fouling.

Advertisement

Last Time Out, Texas: After staying close to Florida for the first 12 minutes on the road, the Longhorns quickly fell behind near the end of the first half, trailing 37-30 by the end of the half. No comeback was forged in the second half for Texas, losing 84-60.

3 Takeaways from Mizzou’s Trouncing Win Past Arkansas
Lips Shushed, Hopes Unlocked: Mizzou Letting Play Speak for Itself
Mizzou’s Tamar Bates and Caleb Grill Reach Career Milestones



Source link

Continue Reading

Missouri

After 4th straight win Missouri basketball is destined for top 25. But, the Tigers don’t care

Published

on

After 4th straight win Missouri basketball is destined for top 25. But, the Tigers don’t care


Missouri basketball’s players huddled up around Dennis Gates while he was going through the instant postgame formalities. They had a message, and they were going to deliver it together.

The Tigers’ head coach was wearing a headset and was being interviewed on the SEC Network broadcast shortly after his team had claimed its fourth straight victory. Mizzou quickly built a double-digit lead over the reeling Arkansas Razorbacks, and the Tigers kept John Calipari’s team at an arm’s length throughout the game to secure an 83-65 win Saturday at Mizzou Arena.

On Gates’ immediate left was senior Tamar Bates. To his immediate right was freshman Marcus Allen. Over his left shoulder was sophomore point guard Anthony Robinson II and over his right shoulder was walk-on Jeremy Sanchez.

Advertisement

The whole cast of Tigers (15-3, 4-1 SEC) was there, huddled together, making the same motion.

In unison, they raised their index fingers over their lips and stared down the camera.

Why?

“We’re just not going to do too much talking. We know what the media says about us around the country, like … TV channels or whatever. We’re not really talked about, and we don’t really care,” Bates said. “We’re just gonna keep showing up and doing what we do. Because the message has been consistent in terms of us knowing what we have in that locker room and being confident in it, so, like I said, we’re not gonna talk, we’re just gonna keep moving and doing what we do as a team.”

After handling Arkansas, the Tigers are destined for a spot in the top 25 of the national polls, which will update Monday. How high? That’s for the voters, media and coaches, to decide. But Mizzou will, barring a major surprise, be a ranked team when it travels to face Texas on Tuesday in Austin.

Advertisement

But, Bates said it. These Tigers really, earnestly do not care. And they haven’t for a while, even when it was on their head coach’s mind.

“In June, I think our first team-building (session) with (team psychologist) Dr. (Joe) Carr, I talked about us being ranked by the end of December or January, and the guys immediately said, ‘We don’t need to be ranked, Coach,’” Gates said. “That’s what they said. They don’t want to be ranked. They don’t care.

“They do not care about any of that. At the end of the day, our goal … is to be in San Antonio, Texas (the Final Four and national championship site.) That’s the one goal we have, and that’s what we talk about.”

Of course, you could make the argument that making a ‘shushing’ motion at the SEC Network camera is the response of a team that does care about its national standing.

Advertisement

There could very well be a little bit of vindication in the reaction from a team that was disregarded after an 0-19 mark in SEC play last year, getting picked to finish 13th in the league by the coaches but currently only trailing Auburn in the league standings.

Whatever the case, this is a Missouri team that has moved on from a historically low season — and it has moved on at a frantic, seemingly still-accelerating pace.

On Saturday — and now for four straight games — the Tigers certainly looked mature. If Tuesday’s win at Florida was confirmation that this is an NCAA tournament-caliber team, then Saturday’s win was confirmation that there’ll be no flukes necessary.

The Hogs, now 0-5 in SEC play, scored Saturday’s opening basket. Missouri scored the next 18.

Advertisement

Bates eclipsed 1,000-career points and had 13 of his 15 total points against the Hogs by the 13:31 mark of the first half. Caleb Grill surpassed the exact same milestone Saturday, knocking down a trio of first-half triples to reach 1,000 points during his 17-point game.

Missouri was up 52-36 by the time the first half ended, and Mizzou Arena was on its feet as the team had scored 50 first-half points in back-to-back games.

The Tigers were soaring, but Calipari’s Razorbacks had some life left. The visitors strung together an 8-0 run and a 10-2 run in the second half as the Mizzou offense stagnated. 

Mizzou’s lane touches dried up. The 3-ball was nearly a non-factor. Missouri, after putting up 52 in the opening 20 minutes, scored just 14 points in the next 12 minutes of gametime.

But the Tigers didn’t blink. The defense stood firm, keeping the Razorbacks off the foul line and creating enough stops to make sure their lead was never less than 10. When Mizzou needed points, it found them. It was enough.

Advertisement

Job done. Four straight.

There’s still “two or three more steps to go” for this team, Gates said, and that the ultimate goal, in his mind, is for “100% of our team playing well at the same time.”

Mizzou isn’t there yet, but the Tigers took care of business Saturday in what looked, pregame, like the ultimate letdown spot after a top-five road win.

So, as the team disbanded from Gates’ side on the SEC Network broadcast — shushes delivered to the pollsters, talking heads and anyone else with anything to say (or not say) — Gates answered one more question.

Advertisement

“These guys enjoy each other, as you can see,” Gates said. “It’s a player-led program, and I’m just thankful these guys allow me to coach them with my heart, and ultimately the physical will take care of itself. But ultimately, these guys are giving it their very best, and our staff is doing the same.”



Source link

Continue Reading

Trending