Missouri Basketball and Why They Can Win the NCAA Tournament

The Missouri Tigers basketball program entered the 2011-12 season with mixed expectations as they prepared for their final season in the Big 12 Conference under new head coach Frank Haith.

Haith came to Missouri from the University of Miami to replace the departed Mike Anderson, who bolted for his dream job at Arkansas.

After rolling through their non-conference schedule in impressive, undefeated fashion, opposing Big 12 coaches and preseason prognosticators were left scrambling with how to prepare for and project Mizzou going forward.

Missouri grabbed the No.2 seed for the upcoming Big 12 Tournament in Kansas City, MO and is also currently projected as a No.2 seed for the NCAA Tournament. However, if they can win their conference tournament, it is possible that Mizzou finds itself perched on the top line heading into March Madness.

The recipe for cutting down the nets is by no means an exact science. But there is a certain blueprint that can be followed in order to better prepare your team for a sustained run through the Tournament.

Although Missouri has its blemishes that have shown through at times this season, some of the things they have in their favor indicate that they could be the last team standing come Final Four time.

Haith took over a veteran squad poised to finally get over the hump at Missouri. The season-ending injury to senior forward Laurence Bowers could have easily derailed the train before it even got on the tracks, but the focus could not be deterred as Missouri finished with the best record in school history (27-4).

Featuring five seniors, one junior, and one sophomore in their seven-man rotation, Missouri has players that are past the “me, me, me” phase of their careers—a trait typically synonymous with mid-major programs that make deep runs into the NCAA Tournament.  

As teams prepare for the postseason, they tend to shrink their rotation to the group of players that can offer them the best chance to win. However, Missouri has been accustomed to doing this all season long due to injuries, transfers not being eligible and an overall lack of scholarship players on the roster.

This has afforded Mizzou the opportunity to build stamina and carve out the specific roles that each of their key pieces play. Their unselfish brand of basketball (16.1 APG for 12^th in the nation) is proof they that have multiple go-to threats and that each trusts one another with the ball in their hands at any point during the game.

Essentially starting four guards, Missouri is one of the smaller teams in the country. But what they lack in size is made up with quickness and the sheer determination to come out victorious.

Sure, they will encounter difficulty when guarding bigger teams down low, but that also works in their favor on the opposite end.  The deficiencies of smaller players tend to camouflage themselves in the paint better in comparison to that of the bigger players stepping out to the perimeter—making guarding Missouri a very daunting task, especially with all of the motion they run to get their shooters open.

What it all boils down to is that Missouri may very well be the team in the country that is the most comfortable in their own skin. Game in and game out, they simply lay it all out in front of you and double-dog dare you to stop them.  

Missouri’s well-coached, veteran, well-conditioned, efficient, compact rotation comprised of talented role players and leaders is a stark contrast to what big time college basketball has become in today’s current landscape.

Sure, some teams may possess a few of these traits, but that will only carry them so far, leaving Missouri as one of the favorites to cut down the nets in New Orleans.

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