Tigers Tourney Tracker 2010 — March 21, 2010
Tigers and West Virginia set to meet with trip to Sweet 16 on line
Missouri has a trip to its second-straight Sweet 16 on the line today against West Virginia at HSBC Arena.
But to get to Syracuse next week, the Tigers must pass a strong Mountaineer team that holds the No. 2 seed in the East Region and is No. 6 in the Associated Press Poll.
Starting with senior swingman Da'Sean Butler, West Virginia throws plenty of big bodies at their opponents. At 6-feet-7-inches tall, Butler averages 17.2 points a game and has six game-winning shots this season. Butler is joined in the starting lineup by three forwards ranging from 6-foot-7-inches tall to 6-foot-9-inches tall. To put it simply, Missouri will be in a battle down low in this one trying to fend off the bigger West Virginia team.
The Tigers found their groove against Clemson and will need to find it again if they want to hang with the Mountaineers. Part of creating the fastbreak opportunities on which Missouri thrives is forcing turnovers. The Tigers forced Clemson to cough up the ball 20 times and it will be interesting to see how West Virginia handles the pressure Missouri applies.
Syracuse easily finished off Gonzaga about 15 minutes ago, so West Virginia and Missouri are warming up on the court. Tipoff will be 1:42 p.m.
The starters for today's game
No surprises in the starting lineups today:
Missouri Senior guard J.T. Tiller Senior guard Zaire Taylor Senior forward Keith Ramsey Sophomore forward Laurence Bowers Sophomore guard Kim English
West Virginia Senior guard Da'Sean Butler Sophomore forward Devin Ebanks Sophomore forward Kevin Jones Sophomore guard Darryl Bryant Senior forward Wellington Smith
Butler taking charge for Mountaineers
Senior guard Da'Sean Butler has four 3-pointers for West Virginia who leads 23-17 with 7:15 to go in the first half.
The Tigers have mostly held up against the Mountaineers so far, but they are doing so without forcing many turnovers. WVU is breaking the press and setting up its halfcourt offense with regularity.
On the offensive end, MU is getting to the basket even though it is facing a big size disadvantage. If it weren't for Butler, this one would be a lot closer.
West Virginia takes five-point lead into halftime
The Mountaineers are getting frustrated on the offensive end, but Da'Sean Butler is still finding ways to score: his 19 points have WVU up 30-25 at halftime.
The Mountaineers shot 32.1 percent as a whole in the half, but as long as Butler hits his 3's and gets to the line as much as he did (eight times, hitting seven attempts), WVU may not need any other offense.
The Tigers weren't too hot from the floor, either. Shooting 38.5 percent, the Tigers are going to the hoop against the much bigger Mountaineers with varying success. Freshman guard Michael Dixon looked good on his way to scoring seven points. In addition to nailing a 3-pointer, Dixon had a couple nice-looking layups that seemed to give MU a burst of momentum.
With three minutes left, sophomore guard Kim English hit a 3-pointer to tie the game at 25. It was the first time the game was knotted up since tipoff. But WVY took control in the final minutes, with Butler hitting five free throws.
Perhaps the most alarming stat for MU is the three turnovers it forced WVU to make in the half. The Mountaineers are breaking Missouri's press, they're just not hitting shots. If West Virginia starts hitting shots the way there are capable of, Missouri may be in trouble.
Tigers can't make up ground
With 7:29 left, WVU still leads over Missouri, 54-47.
Both teams have woken up a bit from the floor, but the Tigers haven't made up any ground.
Tigers running out of time to make a charge
It's getting late for MU, trailing 62-57 with 1:25 left.
Missouri hasn't been able to make a charge, but it's now or never for doing that.