Game/Player Recap

Great overview of the game, compliments of Mstateglfr:
Well, we finally got that one pre-con win against a BCS conference team. it only took almost all the pre-conference schedule to do so. Mizzou is a pretty good team, but they are very much like us. they have had trouble finishing games, and they haven't done well against BCS conference teams this year.this game was great to watch. it sucks that Rhodes was out, but as a silver lining, it forced us to play more guys thru the game giving some players valuable experience.--Jamont Gordon shared the point for much of the game, which was a surprise. off the ball, he stayed along the baseline and was able to cut to the high post or crash the boards on missed shots. it suited him well. 20 points(shot over 50%), 8 rebounds, 5 assists, and 2 blocks. he only turned it over 3 times too. his decision making seemed good today. he played under control and many times made the extra pass for a better shot.--Barry Stewart played some of the point today, and did well. in previous games, he didnt handle PG duties well. but today he was forced to make many decisions and most of them were good.i believe he had a career high today. heck, from a statistical view, he had an amazing day. 24 points, 7 assists, 4 rebounds, and 2 steals. he shot over 50% from the field, was 3-7 from behind the arc, and was a perfect 5-5 from the line.he managed to keep us from taking too many early shots, which was great to see.--Ben Hansbrough also played well. he fouled out, but the fouls were due to hustle and not lazy D. he was told to defend their best shooter in the second half, and did a very good job of limiting shot opportunities. he played Lawrence hard. statistically, Hansbrough filled up the stat sheet. 15 points, 8 rebounds, and 4 assists. he shot 50% overall, and went 5-8 from the line. i really liked his aggressiveness in driving to the basket. he got into the paint and battled for rebounds and second chance opportunities too. he really is a scrappy and physical player. there is no shying away from contact with Ben.--Jarvis Varnado played only 5 minutes in the first half due to his inability to stay out of foul trouble. he then picked up his 3rd foul less than a minute into the second half. he is a walking foul liability. but after that 3rd foul, Jarvis played very well, and also very smart. he finished with 9 points, 8 rebounds, and 5 blocks. so in very limited play, he still managed to meet his average numbers. he was not good from the line, but he never is. what was really impressive was that he never picked up another foul after that 3rd one. he managed to get 4 blocks after that 3rd foul too. i sure didn't think Jarvis was going to be able to be a factor in the game due to his fouling, but he turned it around and really contributed. --Phil Turner started in place of Rhodes today. he is slowly becoming a viable sub in the guard spot. he is just a freshman, and as such, he is making his share of freshman mistakes. his shot selection was questionable at best. he had an air ball or two from behind the arc, and he also shot a few jumpers off balance. further, he made some really questionable passes when being pressed. like i said, i chalk a lot of that up to inexperience. i fully expect him to learn from that and improve thru the year and career. Turner surprisingly finished with a DOUBLE-DOUBLE!! he had 12 points and 10 rebounds. add to that 2 steals and 2 assists, and Turner had a solid statistical game. he shot it poorly from 3pt land though, which is odd because he was touted as the best shooter on the team by Stans. i think Turner has earned some more PT though. TURNER CAN ELEVATE!! the guy has some serious hops!! they were on display today.--Brian Johnson came in and played significant time in the first half due to Varnado's foul trouble. he had 2 points and 2 rebounds. i dont think he is ever going to be a stat sheet filler, but he does provide solid time as a reserve. he knows what he is doing out there, and does not seem to scare easily...he stays calm.--Ravern Johnson came in and actually played! he made the most of his 7 minutes and got 4 points out of it. but he also had 2 turnovers in that short time.--Elgin Bailey and Kodi Augustus didn't play much, just 6 minutes total between the two of em. they didnt really do much of anything while out there.--oh, and Riley Benock saw some action in the second half. he didnt do much of anything either.------a few more thoughts on the game:--the team finished with a positive A/TO ratio!! that is awesome. great job to them for taking care of the ball and sharing the ball.--we out rebounded a bigger and more athletic(at times) team. 43-33 in the rebounds category.--it seems like we have a knack for allowing an opposing player to have a career night against us. well today was more of the same. Mizzou's player, Matt Lawrence, had 28 points, a career high, on 10-15 shooting. this is a guy who is averaging under 9 points per game this season. he went 6-11 from behind the arc and pulled down 6 rebounds. the guy was unconscious for awhile there. he hit almost everything he tried for, and the only reason why his 3pt% isn't higher was because he had to jack up a few as time was winding down. he really had an awesome day against us. Hansbrough did a solid job of slowing him down in the second half though.