Arkansas' Moses Moody, right, slams into Missouri's Dru Smith, left, as he drives during the first half of an NCAA college basketball game Saturday, Feb. 13, 2021, in Columbia, Mo. (AP Photo/L.G. Patterson)
Missouri had its time in the sun.
The Tigers rose to No. 10 in the Associated Press Top 25 last week and earned a No. 4 seed in the NCAA Tournament selection committee’s first mock bracket reveal.
Alas, the Tigers also lost twice to as some cloud cover moved over their season. Their ranking and their projected seedings will take a hit this week. It was fun while it lasted.
Meanwhile Illinois kept rolling toward a top seed. The Illini sat on the No. 2 line in the first mock bracket and their standing was well-earned.
The Illini erased a late five-point deficit while rallying for a 77-72 overtime victory at Nebraska Friday night. They avoided a bad loss to the Big Ten’s worst team – the Cornhuskers are 0-9 in league play -- and extended their winning streak to five games.
Elite college teams find ways to win games even when they suffer an off night, which is inevitable.
“You’ve got to win games,” Illini coach Brad Underwood said. “Winners win. Winners win and losers lose. Early in my career here with some of those teams, you knew we weren’t winning those games. It’s nice to have veterans. It’s nice to have guys with confidence and we found a way to win. That’s what winners do. You’ve got to win.
“Every season you go back and you look and there’s always a game or two or three like this and you don’t play your best. Yet, really good teams find a way to win and we did that.”
Missouri most certainly did not find a way to win at Ole Miss. The Tigers lost 80-59 Wednesday and gave their doubters ample ammunition.
They followed that with a gutty effort Saturday at home against Arkansas minus center Jeremiah Tilmon, who was away from the team while dealing with a death in his family. But they fell short in overtime, losing 86-81, and their hopes for a high seed evaporated.
Elsewhere, SLU clicked off a couple of must-win games ahead of critical Atlantic 10 showdowns while Missouri State rolled to three lopsided victories in the Missouri Valley Conference.
Here is how the area’s Division I basketball teams stack up:
Illinois (14-5): So what does a conference Player of the Year look like? That player scored the final 10 points for his team in regulation time, then tallied the first five in overtime. That’s how Ayo Dosunmu took charge against the Cornhuskers during his 31-point, six-assist performance. This sort of dominant effort is why he returned to college and put off his NBA dreams. Super-sized center Kofi Cockburn (21 points, 13 rebounds) also did his usual thing at Nebraska, but Underwood didn’t get much from his bench or starter Jacob Grandison, who played five empty minutes. But for Dosunmu, this could have been a bad loss. The Illini roll on.
Missouri (13-5): Dru Smith showed up at Ole Miss with a 17-point performance and Javon Pickett scored 10 off the bench. That was about it for the positives for Mizzou during their epic collapse in Oxford. Xavier Pinson came out of his fog to score 23 against Arkansas. But Mark Smith went 0-for-8 from the floor, Dru Smith turned the ball over six times and Pickett repeatedly lost his man on defense. With Tilmon missing, that was too much to overcome against the streaking Razorbacks. Seldom-seen Torrence Watson came through with nine points, three steals and zero turnovers in 26 minutes. So he needs to play more. Parker Braun delivered the best sequence of his career, scoring the game-tying basket at one end and blocking the potential game-winning shot at the other end to force overtime. That was an encouraging sign for his development.
SLU (10-3): The Billikens continued playing catch-up in the A-10 by dispatching Rhode Island 67-60 at home Wednesday and then rolling 68-40 at Fordham on Saturday. Hashan French (nine points, 13 rebounds, three assists) had a bounce-back game against the Rams after scoring just two points and grabbing nine rebounds in his previous two games. At Fordham, the Billikens hardly missed point guard Yuri Collins (sprained ankle) against their overmatched foe. They raced to 15-2 and 28-7 leads en route to a blowout that allowed coach Travis Ford to empty his bench. Gibson Jimerson stayed on the court for 34 minutes and delivered a sturdy performance with 14 points, seven rebounds, two assists and two steals.
Missouri State (14-5): The Bears cruised at SIU Carbondale 65-53 Wednesday with Keaton Hervey (18 points, six rebounds, three blocked shots) leading four scorers in double figures. Then the Bears stepped on Bradley twice over the weekend. They won 80-58 Saturday with Ja’Monta Black scoring 28 points and Gaige Prim adding 20. And they won Sunday 72-57 with Isiaih Mosley going off for 27 points. Prim (20 points, eight rebounds, three assists, two steals) had another strong game in the paint. Missouri State climbed into third place in the MVC at 10-5 while moving toward a Top 4 seed at Arch Madness.
SIU Carbondale (10-9): The highlight of the Salukis’ loss at Missouri State was freshman guard Dalton Banks delivering his most productive all-around game with 12 points and six rebounds. They were still missing Marcus Domask (broken foot) on the weekend and it showed. They tumbled to Illinois State 80-55 Saturday despite getting 13 points and 10 rebounds from freshman center Kyler Filewich. The Salukis rebounded Sunday with a 59-49 victory with Lance Jones (14 points, five rebounds, three assists) leading the way.
SIU Edwardsville (8-11): The Cougars rolled to an 81-63 victory at Tennessee Tech Thursday for their sixth victory in Ohio Valley Conference play this season. Courtney Carter (18 points, five assists), Shamar Wright (15 points, four assists) and Carlos Curtis (13 points, nine assists, seven rebounds) all played well. But they fell 80-60 at Jacksonville State Saturday despite getting 17 points off the bench from UConn transfer Sidney Wilson.
SEMO (7-14): The Redhawks went back to the OVC road and suffered losses at Murray State (80-60) Friday and Austin Peay (78-63) Saturday. Sophomore guard Jordan Love came off the bench with a solid effort (11 points, five rebounds, three steals) at Murray State, then Eric Reed Jr. scored a season-high 21 points at Austin Peay. They are back home this week for games with Austin Peay, Morehead State and Eastern Kentucky.
February 15, 2021 at 08:43PM
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Gordo ranks area hoops: Illini skirt danger while Tigers tumble, Bears roll - St. Louis Post-Dispatch
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