Scouting Report: Missouri Tigers

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Things move at warp speed when the Southeastern Conference schedule arrives. Gone are the days of week-long layoffs and extra rest between games. Now, it is either Tuesday/Saturday or Wednesday/Saturday for the rest of the regular season.

The #6 Kentucky Wildcats (11-2, 1-0) picked up a big win on Saturday in Gainesville. However, there is no time to sit back and celebrate. On Tuesday evening the Missouri Tigers (8-6, 0-1) come to Rupp Arena for the Wildcats’ first home game of the SEC slate. Missouri is coming off of a 75-68 loss at home against Georgia. They have lost four of their last five games, albeit to strong competition.

Coach Dennis Gates overachieved even the most optimistic of expectations in year one. He inherited SEC Player of the Year candidate Kobe Brown but had to hit the transfer portal hard in order to fill out the roster. His quick offseason build led to 25 wins, a fourth-place finish in the league, and a trip to the Round of 32 as a seven-seed in the NCAA Tournament. Coach Gates, a 43-year-old from Chicago, is a rising star in the industry. However, year two isn’t going nearly as well in CoMo. The Tigers were hit hard by graduation and weren’t able to land the transfer haul they did going into last season. Returning three key contributors in Sean East, Nick Honor, and Noah Carter helps, but the offseason was a net negative for Missouri.

As always, we have prepared a full, in-depth scouting report for Kentucky’s next opponent. We will take a deep dive into the Tigers’ personnel, break down their offensive and defensive schemes, and highlight the keys to the game for the ‘Cats. Let’s dive in and get to know more about the Missouri Tigers.

Missouri Tigers Personnel

Starters

#55 Sean East II: 6’3″ 180 lbs, Guard

17.1 ppg, 3.1 rpg, 3.9 apg

Left-handed. Long, athletic guard. Will handle the ball a lot alongside #10 Honor. Shooting an excellent percentage from 3 this season. Historically he has not been a good shooter, but he is 53.8% with 21 makes this year. You have to respect him from 3. Closeout to take away the catch-and-shoot 3s. You can still hop underneath the ballscreens and handoffs. He isn’t overly aggressive shooting them off of the dribble. Still more dangerous as a left-hand driver and playmaker. No left-hand drives!!! He is always coming back to his left to finish inside. Don’t let him spin back left. Stay down, wall up, and make him score over you going right. Don’t over-help when he is driving it right. Driving to pass. Excellent cutter. Don’t get back cut. No left-hand drives. No catch-and-shoot 3s.

#10 Nick Honor: 5’10” 200 lbs, Graduate Student Guard

10.9 ppg, 1.5 rpg, 2.1 apg

Strong, stocky guard. Will handle the ball a lot alongside #55 East II. SHOOTER!!! NO 3s!!! 78 of 132 shots have been 3s! Shooting a much better percentage from 3 than he is from 2. You have to be tight to him at all times to take away the catch-and-shoot 3s. Tighten up to him as the ball is driven towards you. Do not get lost watching the ball when you are guarding him. Be tight! Absolutely no help off of him. Get OVER the ballscreens and handoffs. CHASE off of downscreens and get OVER the flares. Be very willing to SWITCH anytime there is too much space. When you switch you have to switch out aggressively to take him away from 3. Run him off of the line and make him score 2s. Just 35.2% from 2. Next most dangerous in transition. No 3s for him!!!

#2 Tamar Bates: 6’5″ 195 lbs, Junior Guard

10.2 ppg, 1.8 rpg, 1.0 apg

Left-handed. Long, athletic guard. Shooting an excellent percentage from 3 this season. Historically he has not been a good shooter, but he is 53.1% with 17 makes this year. You have to respect him from 3. Closeout to take away the catch-and-shoot 3s. You can still hop underneath the ballscreens and handoffs. He isn’t overly aggressive shooting them off of the dribble. Still more dangerous as a left-hand driver and playmaker. No left-hand drives!!! He is always coming back to his left to finish inside. Don’t let him spin back left. Stay down, wall up, and make him score over you going right. Excellent cutter. Don’t get back cut. They will throw it ahead to him in transition for him to drive it left. Get the ball stopped. No left-hand drives. No catch-and-shoot 3s.

#35 Noah Carter: 6’6″ 235 lbs, Graduate Student Forward

11.5 ppg, 6.3 rpg, 1.5 apg

Strong, skilled 4-man. Capable and willing shooter. 28.6% on 63 attempts. You need to be there to contest the catch-and-shoot 3s. Plays primarily out on the perimeter. He will pick-and-pop some. Closeout with high hands and choppy feet to deter the obvious catch-and-shoot and then bounce back to guard against the right-hand drive. No right-hand drives. Physical at the end of his drives. Stay down, wall up, and make him score over you. Will post up some against a smaller defender. Right hand, left shoulder in the post. Likes to face-up and drive it right. Always coming back to his right to finish. If he goes left it is to set up the spin move back to his right. Crashes the offensive glass hard. Box out! No right-hand drives. No uncontested catch-and-shoot 3s.

#23 Aidan Shaw: 6’8″ 205 lbs, Sophomore Forward

4.1 ppg, 4.1 rpg, 0.4 apg

Long, athletic, bouncy forward. Looking to ballscreen and roll to the basket. Likes to slip the ballscreens. Don’t get slipped. Only looking to score right at the rim. Stay lower than him on the roll. Don’t help up off of him at the rim and give up an easy dunk. Right hand, left shoulder in the post. Stay down, wall up, and make him score over you. He won’t really look to score if you are in between him and the basket. We absolutely can guard him one-on-one in the post, but you can come take it off of him. Five assists, 15 turnovers. Not very comfortable handling it. If you do come you have to do so aggressively and take it off of him. Either a steal or a foul. Otherwise, stay home. Very good offensive rebounder. Box out.

Bench

#14 Anthony Robinson II: 6’2″ 175 lbs, Freshman Guard

4.6 ppg, 2.4 rpg, 1.6 apg

Backup guard. Will handle the ball a lot when he comes in the game. Willing shooter, but shooting a very poor percentage. 4-19 from 3. We are more worried about him as a right-hand driver. No right-hand drives! Likes to use the left-to-right crossover to set up the right-hand drive. Go UNDER the ballscreens and handoffs. We want to stay between him and the basket. When he does drive it he is primarily driving it to pass. Do not over help. Just make him finish with you between him and the basket. You can help off of him when he doesn’t have it. Closeout short to him on the perimeter. No right-hand drives! No layups for him.

#75 Connor Vanover: 7’5″ 230 lbs, Graduate Student Center

4.4 ppg, 2.3 rpg, 0.3 apg

Backup 5-man. Incredibly tall. Will ballscreen and roll to the basket. They will throw it up to him on the roll. Give ground and stay lower than him on the roll. He has a hard time scoring if you are between him and the basket. Does not want the game to be physical. Be physical and get him off of the block. His percentages will go down the further off of the block you make him catch it. Right hand, left shoulder in the post. Stay down, wall up, and make him score over you. Do not bail him out by fouling. Will face-up and shoot jump shots. Willing shooter out to 3-point range. Just be there to throw a hand up. Stands at the rim defensively looking to block shots. Need to play off of two feet and be ready to finish around him. No dunks for him.

#13 Jesus Carralero Martin: 6’7″ 225 lbs, Senior Forward

1.7 ppg, 1.8 rpg, 1.6 apg

Backup 4-man. Capable shooter, but more aggressive as a right-hand driver. No right-hand drives! Closeout to him with high hands and choppy feet to contest the obvious catch-and-shoot, but then bounce back to guard against the right-hand drive. He is physical at the end of his drives. Will shot fake, spin, and step through in order to come back and finish with his right hand. If he is going left it is just to set you up to come back right. Stay down, wall up, and make him finish over you. He is a good passer out on the perimeter. Likes to throw the high-low pass or hit a back cutter on the wing. You can get up and pressure him some as he is surveying the floor. Just don’t want to get smoked to his right hand. Not a good finisher.

#11 Trent Pierce: 6’10” 210 lbs, Freshman Forward

2.2 ppg, 1.2 rpg, 0.1 apg

Backup 5-man. Will be one of the guys they cycle through at the 5. Athletic and mobile. Much more perimeter-oriented. 20 of 31 shots have been 3s, but has only made 4. You need to be there and get a hand up to contest his catch-and-shoot 3s. Will pick-and-pop when he ballscreens. Not comfortable handling it. Get up and pressure him when he has it on the perimeter. One assist, seven turnovers in limited minutes. Right hand, left shoulder in the post. Be physical and get him off of the block. His percentages will go down the further off of the block you make him catch it. Doesn’t want the game to be physical. Stay down, wall up, and make him score over you.

Missouri Tigers Offense

The Missouri Tigers rank 74th in KenPom’s adjusted offensive efficiency. They have benefited greatly from #55 East II and #2 Bates having incredible three-point shooting seasons that are well above their respective career averages. In terms of scheme, first and foremost, the Tigers are going to look to score in transition. They generally have three, or even four, players in the game who are capable of bringing the ball up the floor and will look to throw it ahead some. Then, in the half court, they will set a lot of ballscreens. A ballscreen continuity is their base offense aside from some traditional 4-around-1 and 5-out Motion. Containing #55 East II will go a long way towards cutting off the head of the snake. This is a team we should be able to guard.

In the half court the Missouri Tigers really like to spread the floor to open up driving lanes for their guards. Even when they go 5-Out like this we should be able to stay in the gaps and help on drives from the perimeter. The only “no help” player they have is #10 Honor. You can even stunt and help off of #55 East II and #2 Bates, you just have to be more selective and then recover with a more aggressive closeout. This was about 22 seconds of really good defense from Georgia in this clip. They corralled a baseline drive, scrambled to recover on the perimeter, and forced East II to drive it right with a good closeout. However, you can’t let him come back to his left to finish. He is ALWAYS spinning back left!!!

Here is a look at Missouri’s ballscreen continuity. They will lift their opposite forward as the side ballscreen is set and then back cut on the wings as the ball gets reversed. On this possession, they only get to one side before #55 East II finds #2 Bates in the opposite corner. We will live with this shot to start the game. You can be off to the midline when guarding Bates. He is essentially three passes away on the perimeter here. If they are going to make that pass and Bates is going to make this relatively contested shot we will live with it to start the game.

This is exactly what we cannot have happen on Tuesday night. #55 East II drives it to his right coming off of the staggered ballscreen. When he is driving it right he is primarily driving it to pass. You should not be helping when he is driving it right. However, you can see how Seton Hall converges on the paint and has all 10 eyes fixed on the ball. Quit staring at the ball!!! That includes crashing down off of #10 Honor which should not ever happen. Do not help off of #10 Honor. Do not over-help when #55 East II drives it right.

You’ll see the Missouri Tigers get into this pistol action some in the half court and this time it flows into a side ballscreen with #75 Vanover rolling to the block. When they throw it to him on the roll you just need to stay between him and the basket and be physical. When he starts a move to his left, as you see here, he is just setting you up to come back right. We can live with him making this hook shot, but the defender should be more physical on his left shoulder as he gets into his move.

#55 East II and #2 Bates have had excellent shooting seasons which has made them even more effective as cutters off of the ball. They both will look to back cut from the wings when the ball is being reversed or driven toward them. We don’t want to give either of them open catch-and-shoot 3s, but they are still more dangerous and aggressive as left-hand drivers and cutters off of the ball. You don’t need to be overplaying them on the wings like this.

Missouri Tigers Defense

As Coach Calipari mentioned on his radio show Monday night, the Missouri Tigers look to junk it up defensively. You’ll likely see three or four different defensive concepts throughout the game. Their base is token man-to-man full court pressure back to man-to-man defense in the half court. However, they have mixed in possessions of 2-3 and 1-3-1 zone in every game. They will trap in their full court pressure some too when they turn up the pressure. In their half court man-to-man they will switch a lot 1-5 and you’ll be looking at the numbers on the back of their jerseys in the passing lanes. This will create a lot of one-on-one driving opportunities. You have to be able to beat your man off of the dribble in this game.

Keys to the Game

Contain the Tigers from 3. On the season they are taking 42.6% of their shots from deep and making 34.2%. #55 East II and #2 Bates are shooting 53.8% and 53.1% respectively. #10 Honor is their best shooter though. Have to take him away from 3. Hold these three guys to four or fewer combined 3s.
Take care of the basketball. This typically isn’t an issue for us, but Missouri will look to junk it up defensively and will throw a lot of different looks at us. They are 31st in steal rate and 42nd in overall turnover percentage. Keep our turnover percentage to 13% or lower.
Dominant the glass. The Missouri Tigers are not a good rebounding team on either end of the floor. In fact, they are one of the worst defensive rebounding teams in the country. We should be at 30%+ on the offensive glass and 77%+ on the defensive glass.
Shoot 75% or better from the free throw line.