Missouri Basketball: Takeaways from Tigers win over Georgia in SEC clash

Despite not having a key player, Missouri Basketball was able to get by a competitive opponent in the Georgia Bulldogs in an SEC battle.

To say this Missouri needed this dominant win is an understatement. The Tigers, who have been in an offensive slump the past few games, were able to score the ball easily against Georgia in the second half of a 22-point win on the road. Coming into the game Missouri Basketball hadn’t scored more than 66 points in the last three games, well below their season average of almost 80 ppg. While Missouri saw themselves down 1 at the half, the Tigers used a quick start after halftime and never looked back.

1) The offense finally looked like its old self

On the season Missouri is undefeated when they make 10 or more threes in a game. Against Georgia, the Tigers were able to keep that trend going shooting 50% from behind the arc making a total of 14 threes. D’Moi Hodge led all scorers with 18 points while making six threes. Nick Honor, the hero of Missouri’s previous game against Mississippi State, hit five threes of his own. Honor ended the game with 17 points. The Tigers reminded everyone just how great their offense is when the shots are falling. A difficult task for any defense to stop.

2) More Mohamed Diarra

Mohamed Diarra, a transfer from Garden City CC, has seen his minutes increase throughout the season. He made his second start of the season against Georgia. Diarra has been making the most of his minutes lately. While he hasn’t had any crazy stat lines, what he does bring to the floor is his size and his toughness. It’s no secret that Missouri struggles on the boards, mostly due to a lack of bigs, but Diarra has been giving the Tigers more of a chance while he is in the game.

He is willing to put his body on the line, even against bigger opponents, never backing down. And even if he doesn’t grab the rebound he can keep the ball away from the opposition and give one of his teammates the opportunity to grab the ball. If he continues to progress, he should be able to play a larger role for Missouri providing the tigers with a reliable big.

3) Missouri hurt themselves in the first half

The first half of the game against Georgia was frustrating to watch at times. Missouri was scoring the ball well, both inside and out, but was also committing too many unforced turnovers. The Tigers turned the ball over 8 times in the first half. Many of these turnovers were because of bad passes, skip passes that would sail well over the intended target’s head.

On defense they would either lose sight of their man or not contest threes, allowing Georgia to connect on 8 shots from behind the arc.