Hoops Preview: Mizzou will have to beat a tenacious Georgia team without Jeremiah Tilmon – Rock M Nation

What a difference a week can make.

Last Tuesday,Mizzou Hoops was the toast of the town. Coming off a white-knuckler over Alabama, the conversation around the Tigers appeared to have shifted into a new gear. Once we were arguing about how good they actually were now we were wondering just how high they could climb.

Two losses and one notable absence later, and Missouris season trajectory has taken a sharp 180.

There was always a chance the Tigers would drop both of last weeks games, but the manor in which it did was discouraging to say the least. The Ole Miss disaster might have been the Tigers most uninspired effort yet, and the loss to Arkansas, while not a gut-punch in and of itself, raised the question of how long the Tigers will have to stay afloat without their potentially all-conference big man. As Monday rolled around, we learned quickly that it will be for at least another game.

If youre an optimist, the next few weeks present a glimmer of hope. After all, the Tigers are entering the squishier part of the schedule. Georgia, South Carolina, Texas A&M, potentially Vanderbilt; these are what we wouldve considered chalk just one week ago. Even now, in the face of two consecutive losses and sinking bracketology momentum, the next few weeks offer a chance for Missouri to weather the storm and hit their stride in March, when it all matters.

However, the loss of Tilmon and Missouris continuing defensive struggles also offer fuel to the pessimists. At this point, the Tigers are likely facing an uphill battle to reclaim a protected seed in the NCAA Tournament. Theyd need to beat Florida in the scheduled season finale and get LSU back on the schedule to add two more Quad 1 wins to the resume.

Even with those potential wins, though, Missouri faces a number of potholes ahead. The Tigers face two consecutive road games against decidedly non-NCAA teams, followed by a rematch with a Mississippi team that thoroughly whipped them in Oxford. Its easy to see the Tigers holding serve, but its just as easy to see how a 1-2 stretch could drop the Tigers even further, possibly into the 8 or 9 seed range where their metrics currently place them.

As games tend to feel in mid-February when your team is still in the thick of it, Tuesday nights trip to Athens looms large for the Tigers. A win would put the Tigers back on the right trajectory, one that would see them finish with a flourish and high seed in both of the upcoming tournaments. A loss could turn last weeks stumbles into a full-on slide.

Again: What a difference a week can make.

Note: These starting lineups are projected.

Anthony Edwards departure after last season left a chasm in the Bulldogs lineup, and Tom Crean has spent the better part of a year trying to find ways to piece together that production.

The Bulldogs one of the countrys shorter teams rely heavily on their trio of starting guards, especially Sahvir Wheeler and Justin Kier. Both play over three-fourths of the available minutes. Wheeler is a high-risk, high-reward play driver who has team-high turnover and assist rates. Hes not much of a scorer in his own right, but he no doubt drives the Bulldogs offensive play. Kier is a much more efficient shooter and can beat you from deep, but he also ranks as the Bulldogs most aggressive defender. Tye Fagan completes the trio as Georgias best offensive thread from the back court hes a 64.5 percent shooter from two-point range and thats almost exclusively where he focuses his shot selection. He too is a pesky defender, though not as productive as Kier.

Despite not having any bigs that can challenge the tallest in the SEC, Georgia is well-stocked with large wings and combo forwards. PJ Horne leads the way for this group, and the senior may be the Bulldogs biggest offensive threat. Hes excellent on that end of the glass and shoots well from all three areas 69.4 from two, 83 percent from the line and 35 percent from deep, where he chooses to take most of his looks. Sophomore Toumani Camara also gets starters minutes and may be the teams best player around the edges. He boasts the Bulldogs best block percentage and a high steal rate as well as being the teams leading rebounder overall and an efficient two-point shooter. Andrew Garcia is Creans preferred option off the bench, and hell even get some starting assignments here and there. Hes likely the teams most aggressive driver and is able to bank a lot of high-percentage looks but hes prone to foul trouble.

From there, a large number of players get looks off the bench. Freshman KD Johnson serves as a spark plug scorer for the back court. He fouls a lot and is loose with the ball, but he can shoot from deep (42.5 percent.) Christian Brown follows the Andrew Garcia mold of getting to the rim and looking for contact with his big frame, though hes not nearly the scorer Garcia is. Tyron McMillan is the teams tallest player, but doesnt factor too heavily into areas like rebounding or interior defense; hes mostly just a clean-up man. Sophomore Jaxon Etter also gets some mop-up minutes in the guard position, where hes been incredibly efficient, logging an 82.7 true shooting percentage. Mikal Starks will also get the call if necessary, though he doesnt contribute enough offensively to justify the turnovers he gives up.

This admittedly sounds a bit strange coming off of Missouris best three-point performance of the season, but Georgia offers Missouri another opportunity to do what it does best get to the rim. Even without Jeremiah Tilmon, Missouri should still have plenty of opportunities in the paint. Georgia is dreadful in both eFG defense and defensive rebounding. Not only that, but Missouri has a distinct size advantage. Dont overthink it pound away near the bucket and make Georgia defend like it hasnt all season.

Missouri has played a lot of fast teams this year, but few play faster than Georgia, who rank 15th in adjusted tempo on the season. Theyre decent shooters from two-point range and they crash the offensive glass effectively. But if theres one way Missouri could turn this into a boat-race, it would be with turnovers. The Tigers arent particularly adept at forcing turnovers on the season, but Georgias fast and loose style means theyll be there for the taking. If Missouri can take advantage of UGAs poor ball-handling, the transition opportunities that follow will be a boon to the Tigers offensive health.

Missouri 79, Georgia 76 | Theres no way to put it nicely Missouri is fading a little bit and needs a good stretch of games to pick itself up. A return to protected seed territory isnt off the table, but itll start with taking care of business in winnable games, something Missouri didnt do at all last week. Georgia isnt great theyre not even good, honestly but theyre more than capable of beating Missouri on a bad night, of which the Tigers have had a few lately. Given that theyll once again be without Tilmon, it should be a tense night as Missouri looks to get back in the win column.

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Hoops Preview: Mizzou will have to beat a tenacious Georgia team without Jeremiah Tilmon - Rock M Nation