Missouri makes Memphis' D look rec-league
Posted: Thursday, March 26, 2009 11:30 PM
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March Madness
By nearly any measure, Memphis had one of the nation’s top defenses.
Key word: had. Missouri ran by that defense, and then some.
The Tigers led the country in defensive field goal percentage (.366), eFG % (41.4) and overall defensive efficiency, according to kenpom.com. They rack up steals and blocks at a rate only a handful of teams surpasses and win by an average of 17.1 points per game.
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DeMarre Carroll
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But perhaps the best illustration of how much Missouri torched the Tigers on Thursday night is this: Memphis allows about 57 points a game, yet lost 102-91. It doesn’t matter if you prefer tempo-free stats or rely on the traditional ones, that score is worth a double take.
Nobody had put up more than 79 points on Memphis all season – and that was an overtime loss. No team had broken 90 since 2007.
“We kind of got punched in the mouth right from the beginning of the game,” Memphis coach John Calipari said. “They broke us down defensively like we break people down. They beat us at our own game.”
The loss in itself wasn’t a huge surprise. Vegas tabbed the No. 2 Tigers 4.5-point favorites before the game, with an over/under of 141.
Even if Missouri (31-6) doesn’t beat Connecticut on Saturday in the West Regional final, it should relish the fact that it posted the most impressive offensive performance of the tournament – against perhaps the best defensive team. No small feat.
The Tigers – Missouri, that is – hit 53 percent of their shots (eFG% 58.1) and had just 12 turnovers on 83 possessions (TO% of 14.5). That’s a ridiculous number against a rec-league defense, let alone Memphis.
For comparison’s sake, the average number of possessions in a D-I game is 66.5. The D-I average for turnover percentage is 20.4. Missouri had 16 more possessions than average, yet had far fewer turnovers than you’d expect. Fewer turnovers than any Missouri fan should dare to hope for.
“I thought our defense was really good,” Missouri coach Mike Anderson said. “It was disruptive. It’s not necessarily taking the basketball. It’s not feast or famine.”
Missouri led 49-36 at half. At one point, the lead was 24 points. Sure, it shrunk to six with 2:14 left to play, but that was to be expected. What wasn't expected was the triple-digit result.
Beating Missouri – as UConn is about to find out – is easier said than done. Stopping the Tigers from running their way into the Final Four will be a formidable task.
