Missouri Basketball: Takeaways from Tigers narrow victory over Northern Illinois

Missouri Basketball had an ugly victory over Northern Illinois. What were some key takeaways from the low-scoring affair?

Missouri Basketball looked to defend their home court against the Northern Illinois Huskies after being defeated by a MU system school, Kansas City, the previous game.

After the depleting loss against Kansas City, Tiger fans didn’t know how their team would look against Northern Illinois. A fresh new team with chemistry still being developed leaves a sense of unknowingness to fans. The biggest question going in was how they would bounce back after the brutal loss.

Here are the takeaways from last night’s win over the Huskies.

How does that saying go? Offense wins games, defense wins championships?

Scratch that whole saying because the offense was practically non-existent for both teams. It was a true defensive game that allowed the Tigers to win. They were inefficient on the offensive end, making 41% of their shots from the field. That isn’t bad by any means but the horror came from three where they only made two shots, courtesy of Kobe Brown and Boogie Coleman. They were 14.3% from beyond-the-arc.

Their defense was spectacular. The Tigers held the Huskies to only 24.1% shooting from the field and 19% from three. They forced 11 turnovers and sent back nine shots. No Huskie scored in double-digits.

When the rest of the offense was depleted, two players took the reigns

Brown was on fire throughout the game. He recorded 13 points on 63% shooting from the field, grabbed 13 rebounds, six assists, and four blocks. He put the Tigers on his back, showing his veteran leadership. He made sure Mizzou wasn’t out of this game when it seemed like they were going to drop another game on their home court. But he wasn’t the only one who truly saved this game.

Insert *checks notes*, Jordan Wilmore? Pause. The 7’3 center, who only had four points last season, had the game of his life. In 16 minutes of play, he recorded 11 points on 71% shooting, six rebounds, and three blocks. Tiger fans were not expecting him to absolutely explode onto the scene and be a key reason Mizzou won this game. I didn’t expect it and I am pleasantly surprised.

Is there a possibility of a momentum shift?

Now I’m not saying this game is what’s going to spark a huge momentum shift going into the rest of the season. But it sure will help them going into the Jacksonville classic on Sunday.

It seems as though confidence is back for the Tigers. This win was needed. It was bad. It was ugly. But they didn’t give up. Coach Martin preaches defense and discipline. That’s exactly what lead to Mizzou defeating Northern Illinois 54-37.