WICHITA STATE (7-1) at MISSOURI (6-2) Game Thread

[Stickboy46]

Very few games did I miss. Even when traveling, I make sure I tune in and am a season ticket holder. The bench is also FAR more involved under Mills than it ever was with Brown. And let’s not even begin to talk about the time out situation.

I'll 100% give you the bench involvement. Team is definitely jelling better too .. But Mills is definitely subdued even more than IB. Like I said, that's not a bad thing though.

[shock-it-to-me]

If we wanna make any noise this year, Cortes is a must. Period.

Agree 1000%

[WuDrWu]

Each coach has his own personality. Mills is Mills. Marshall was Marshall. Let it go.
This game was simple to explain. They had a legit Power 5 PG, we didn't.
East is the real deal - maddening how he just knifed through the defense and was always aware of his players and their spot on the floor.

The officiating? Perplexing, especially considering the crew.
Keith Kimble is top of the heap. Pat Adams, and Tony Chiazza didn't feel like blowing the whistle today.
Perplexing because all we hear is how the NCAA wants the game decided by athleticism, speed and ability - not the weight room.
The hand jabbing, swiping and general holding was evident on almost every possession. After a while, I stopped questioning and was resolved to the fact they were going to let it go.

Have to admire the grit on this team. With all of the silly turnovers at the start, this game should have been over at the under 12 TO. Yet, they hung in there.
Abidde and Ridgnal had to play as much as possible cuz they could match the athleticism MU was putting on the floor.

Time for finals and of course grades will come a out right after. Then Cortes will be on the clock.

That is all.

If the ability to read is ever diminished, or this site ends up behind a paywall, this is the one post I still want to be able to read every game.

[Kung Wu]

Land mine #1 went as expected ...

[Bluzrover]

Tough sports day yesterday in the Bluz household. Tough to make those threes on tired legs at the end of the game. I think our guys can handle the physicality, but that was just too much for only seven guys.

I’m hopeful Cortes gets cleared to play this next semester if for no other reason than we need all hands on deck (and most definitely a PG). But I’m sensing that many on this board are setting us (themselves) up for disappointment. I’m sure he’s going to have up and down games once he gets on the court and Shockernet is going to have a field day with that!

[shock]

First of all, these guys are making huge progress every game. Tonight was the first night that I did not see spacing issues all game. The motion is getting better and they are able to run a couple more plays than they have been. With the better spacing and motion, their effort is able to have more of an impact and they are the hardest playing team I’ve watched since the undefeated season. The grit and moxie is fantastic to watch. MTXE to the max.

ACQA has been awesome. Really, the whole staff is darn amazing, but I don’t think I’ve seen our bigs coached this well… ever. QB is blossoming, and KP is finally catching up to where he should be this year.

This team tonight reminded me of Fred and Ron’s senior year when Fred had to sit out and Ron ran the point. It’s interesting to watch Beverly bring the ball up because he has better court vision than Bell so you can see what bell is missing sometimes. I don’t think Cortes will “fix” the team like Fred did, but it will let players play their natural positions again, give us an eighth man, and the offense will be smoother. The commentators made a good observation: bell is initiating the offense with a handoff instead of a pass. Bringing Cortes in should allow them to initiate in different ways. Without Cortes I think we are a 6-7 team. With Cortes we are a 4-5.

I’m thinking about buying tickets for friends and family to go to the next home game because these guys deserve a sold out CKA.

Mills could sit on a chair with his hands in his lap for all I care. The man makes the right adjustments at the right time and these guys play their hearts out for him. What more do you want?

[Cdizzle]

I came away feeling better about the team and direction of the program than before the game. They were undermanned. They were in a tough environment and not getting a lot of breaks (#roadgamesarehard). They have some glaring weaknesses.

But they never folded. They just kept plugging away.

Keep at it.

[Kung Wu]

I’m hopeful Cortes gets cleared to play this next semester if for no other reason than we need all hands on deck (and most definitely a PG). But I’m sensing that many on this board are setting us (themselves) up for disappointment. I’m sure he’s going to have up and down games once he gets on the court and Shockernet is going to have a field day with that!

Exactly how I feel. It's likely to take Cortes a half a season to get used to the new system, get used to the speed of the game after sitting, and get used to new expectations. I'm guessing (hoping) we'll see real impact from him around tourney time -- which wouldn't suck. Maybe being an upperclassman he will be able to hop right in and make the impact we would all love to see, but I don't expect it.

[ShockBand]

I think Mills' style on the sidelines is fine, just different from the highly vocal type that we seem to be used to. By not yelling and screaming constantly, the players on the court have to be more reliant on themselves individually and as a team, rather than on a coach in their ear all the time. To me it is pretty clear that he (and the ACs) are doing plenty of coaching in the timeout huddles, at halftime, and in practice.

The missing element yesterday late in the game IMHO was missed shots at critical times. I agree that being gassed is a likely contributor to that.

Even though I no longer have season tickets, I'm going to try and make as many games as I can. This team is fun to watch!

[ABC]

I went to the game with my wife and another couple from Topeka who are WSU graduates.

I don't have a lot to add to the game discussion, other than Beverley had one of the oddest statistical games that I've seen in quite a while. And he kept getting his pocket picked and made bad passes; I kept thinking that he really needs to stop dribbling. And then in the 2nd half he had quite a few nifty drives to the hole.

The arena was nice. Reminded me of IBA - about the same capacity. It was 60% full? Student sections was about the same. There were lots of Shocker fans, but with the team colors essentially the same, it was hard to tell. I can't say it was a great home-court advantage. It was eerily quiet unless Missouri did something positive. I think the only time the crowd came alive PRIOR to a good play was when WSU had the ball, down 3 and late.

MU fans were plenty friendly. We sat in front of a high-school ref who was making the same comments that have already been repeated here about the officiating.

[WINGdingBALLfling]

That Mizzou team was as close to kryptonite for our current roster makeup as you can get. Experienced club that can apply extreme ball pressure with solid shot blockers patrolling the paint. Would love to play them again in a month, I would like our chances. Biggest take away was our guys didn't back down after a horrid start and still seem to be trending in the right direction. Overall it was a fun trip out to Columbia.

Also, I need to see a replay of the flagrant foul because it looked to me that Grill just tried to dunk it too hard. Then on the double tech, I wasn't sure what happened but when they announced it on the PA I figured it was going to be on Quincy Acy/ MU head coach. They had a nice long stare down near half court. Acy brought some fire to the bench that some might think Mills is missing lol.

[ShockBand]

That Mizzou team was as close to kryptonite for our current roster makeup as you can get. Experienced club that can apply extreme ball pressure with solid shot blockers patrolling the paint. Would love to play them again in a month, I would like our chances. Biggest take away was our guys didn't back down after a horrid start and still seem to be trending in the right direction. Overall it was a fun trip out to Columbia.

Also, I need to see a replay of the flagrant foul because it looked to me that Grill just tried to dunk it too hard. Then on the double tech, I wasn't sure what happened but when they announced it on the PA I figured it was going to be on Quincy Acy/ MU head coach. They had a nice long stare down near half court. Acy brought some fire to the bench that some might think Mills is missing lol.

Grill rammed that dunk attempt right into the side of the rim. It was mostly physics that tossed him to the floor like a rag doll. A foul, yes, there was some contact. Flagrant? Not in my opinion.

[Shocktoberfest]

Grill rammed that dunk attempt right into the side of the rim. It was mostly physics that tossed him to the floor like a rag doll. A foul, yes, there was some contact. Flagrant? Not in my opinion.

Especially with the luxury of replay. No way that was flagrant. It's not our fault Grill got rejected by the goal. They should have given the flagrant to the rim. That really hurt us badly.

[Rize Ballz]

Still have no idea why Grill was booted at Iowa State before the season even ended. Must’ve been something non negotiable.

[Seagull]

I’ve always wondered how far in advance the coaches know who will be reffing the game. It seems to have a huge impact on the success of the game plan.