Missouri Basketball: 3 takeaways from Tigers road loss at Kansas

2. Too many points left on the floor

There is only one way to win a game of basketball. Score more points than your opponent. I know that is oftentimes easier said than done. An important part of scoring more points than the team you’re playing is taking advantage of scoring opportunities.

In this game against Kansas, Missouri didn’t capitalize on many of their scoring chances. There were three areas where Missouri left points on the floor, quite possibly costing them the win. The first being on the free throw line. The Tigers didn’t get to the line until the second half and ended up going 9-13 for the game. While four missed free throws wouldn’t have won the game for Missouri, any points they could have scored with the clock stopped would have helped.

A second area is on the boards. As I mentioned in the section on rebounding the Tigers ended the game with seven offensive rebounds and didn’t convert any of them into second-chance points. In a game where shots aren’t falling consistently for either team, second-chance points can lead to a win. Kansas ended up with 17 second-chance points and the win.

And the third area is turning turnovers into points. Missouri’s defense, for the most part, played a solid game against Kansas. The Tigers forced 16 turnovers. Mizzou ended up with five blocks and eight steals. But where they were lacking was in turning these takeaways into points, Missouri ended the game with only nine points off turnovers and only five fast break points. If Missouri was able to take advantage of all three of these areas they quite possibly get the win.