In the battle of the pests, Missouri proved to be a better chaos-causer than Clemson on Friday. Maybe that's not a big surprise considering Clemson's messy first-round record under head coach Oliver Purnell (these other Tigers have been first-round outs in each of the past three seasons). But with both teams pressing, only Mike Anderson's Mizzou team was able to prod as effectively as it had all season.
But if Missouri thinks it's going to make a mess out of West Virginia's offense in the second round, the Tigers have another thing coming.
Behind a five-steal performance from senior guard J.T. Tiller, Mizzou forced Clemson to cough up the ball early and often -- keeping with the team's season average (Missouri forces 19.7 turnovers per; it got 18 out of Clemson). But Tiller & Co. will need more than turnovers alone to mitigate the offensive effectiveness of the 2-seeded Mountaineers. West Virginia has been remarkably consistent in its ballhandling behind guards Joe Mazzulla and Darryl "Truck" Bryant, turning over the ball about as much in wins as it does in losses (11.5 average turnovers in its losses; 11.8 in wins).
Four of West Virginia's five losses came in games where the Mountaineers gave up the ball at a higher rate than their season average of 11.7, suggesting that maybe there's something to picking pockets in the backcourt. Upon closer inspection, however, the Mountaineers' offense was held in the 60s in three of the L's, meaning the turnovers had a major impact only because the games were slowed.
Even if Missouri were able to force the action at its usual rate, which doesn't seem likely since West Virginia hasn't turned over the ball 19 times in a single game all season, teams that have poked the ball away haven't exactly had high success rates. The Mountaineers are 2-1 in games with their highest turnover totals (a win over Cleveland State, a loss to Purdue and a win over Mississippi). And the book on how to beat the Big East champs has been the opposite of the harassing style that Mizzou plans on employing. West Virginia's losses against top-25 competition have come when teams slow the game and force Da'Sean Butler to shoot 3s (he averages 4.92 attempts in wins, 6.66 in losses; and shoots 38.3 percent in wins, 29.7 percent in losses). If this matchup is going to be a race, it'll be over quickly. And the Mountaineers will win it.
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But if Missouri thinks it's going to make a mess out of West Virginia's offense in the second round, the Tigers have another thing coming.
Behind a five-steal performance from senior guard J.T. Tiller, Mizzou forced Clemson to cough up the ball early and often -- keeping with the team's season average (Missouri forces 19.7 turnovers per; it got 18 out of Clemson). But Tiller & Co. will need more than turnovers alone to mitigate the offensive effectiveness of the 2-seeded Mountaineers. West Virginia has been remarkably consistent in its ballhandling behind guards Joe Mazzulla and Darryl "Truck" Bryant, turning over the ball about as much in wins as it does in losses (11.5 average turnovers in its losses; 11.8 in wins).
Four of West Virginia's five losses came in games where the Mountaineers gave up the ball at a higher rate than their season average of 11.7, suggesting that maybe there's something to picking pockets in the backcourt. Upon closer inspection, however, the Mountaineers' offense was held in the 60s in three of the L's, meaning the turnovers had a major impact only because the games were slowed.
Even if Missouri were able to force the action at its usual rate, which doesn't seem likely since West Virginia hasn't turned over the ball 19 times in a single game all season, teams that have poked the ball away haven't exactly had high success rates. The Mountaineers are 2-1 in games with their highest turnover totals (a win over Cleveland State, a loss to Purdue and a win over Mississippi). And the book on how to beat the Big East champs has been the opposite of the harassing style that Mizzou plans on employing. West Virginia's losses against top-25 competition have come when teams slow the game and force Da'Sean Butler to shoot 3s (he averages 4.92 attempts in wins, 6.66 in losses; and shoots 38.3 percent in wins, 29.7 percent in losses). If this matchup is going to be a race, it'll be over quickly. And the Mountaineers will win it.
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