Missouri’s in need of a reset after fumbling away a 73-72 home loss to Jackson State on Sunday. The team will hope to get back on track with another homestand against South Carolina State.
“Obviously, it’s time to regroup,” head coach Dennis Gates said. “Didn’t perform how we wanted to perform last game. Hats off to our last opponent. Obviously, we’ve got another tough South Carolina State team coming in … (They) definitely can pose problems for us defensively and offensively with what they do in their style of play.”
SC State has claimed a pair of wins at home but suffered three losses on the road through its first five outings of the season. The Bulldogs are looking to improve on their 5-26 record in the 2022-23 in head coach Erik Martin’s second year with the program.
Martin got a late start in the offseason last year, joining the school on July 11, 2022, and had to retool the roster quickly, bringing in nine newcomers. With more time to construct the roster, this season’s squad should be better suited to Martin’s up-tempo scheme, which he developed during his 15 years as an assistant coach at West Virginia.
This will be the Tigers and Bulldogs’ second-ever meeting, with Mizzou claiming a 102-51 victory in the first game of the series on Dec. 17, 2012. Both sides will be looking to get back into the win column before Thanksgiving.
Missouri (3-2) vs. South Carolina State (2-3)
WHEN: 6 p.m. CT
WHERE: Mizzou Arena, Columbia, Missouri
TV: SEC Network+
SERIES: Missouri leads, 1-0
KENPOM PREDICTION: Missouri 86, South Carolina State 65
1. Take good care of the ball. Mizzou had an uncharacteristic 18 turnovers in its loss to Jackson State, one of the biggest reasons JSU was able to keep Sunday’s game close and come out on top. MU has coughed the ball up on 17.4% of possessions this year, slightly better than the national average of 18.0%, ranking 157th in the country according to KenPom. South Carolina State goes into Wednesday’s contest ranked 35th in steal percentage, swiping the ball away on 13.4% of defensive possessions — a higher mark than Jackson State. The black and gold can’t afford another game being as careless.
2. Dare the Bulldogs to shoot. SC State has been one of the least impressive teams from beyond the arc to start the year. The Bulldogs have only attempted 14.0 3-pointers per game, but are making them at just a 24.7% clip, which ranks 330th among all NCAA Division I schools. Just two players have made more than two treys during team’s first five games: William Dubinsky and Omar Cronsky, both of whom are connecting on roughly just 30% of their attempts. The team has only been slightly more effective shooting inside, making 44.6% of its 2-pointers. Mizzou’s aim should be to load up in the paint and keep the visitors from driving in.
3. Control the tempo. Five games in, Missouri’s surprisingly been one of the slower teams in the nation, averaging 67.4 possessions per game. SCSU ranks third in the country with 76.3 possessions per game, a sign of Martin’s impact on the program. Part of the slowdown for the Tigers has come from playing tougher defense — per KenPom, opponents have an average possession length of 18.8 seconds. Mizzou should still have the personnel to match the Bulldogs’ pace, but if the hosts need to bring the game to a crawl to get SC State out of rhythm, the black and gold should be capable of doing that, too.
This is a game where MU should have a sizeable talent over SCSU and shouldn’t have too many challenges against the Bulldogs. But that could’ve been said about the last game against Jackson State as well. Until Missouri shows some kind of consistency, both in the rotation and in the scoring margin, it’s not feasible to say the team will come away with a blowout victory. I’ve still got the Tigers winning, but not by an overwhelming amount, 75-61.
Stay up to date on all the Mizzou news with your premium subscription
Talk about this story and more in The Tigers’ Lair
Make sure you’re caught up on all the Tiger news and headlines
Subscribe to our YouTube Channel for video and live streaming coverage
Follow our entire staff on Twitter
