UConn too strong for Tigers

Missouri to play a near-perfect game Saturday in Glendale to beat an excellent Connecticut team. The Tigers came close and even had the Huskies rattled before faltering down the stretch in 82-75 loss. While Missouri struggled to hit jump shots in the second half (they hit just 6 of 20 shots outside the pain), UConn regained its composure in time to hit some huge shots and all 10 of its free throws in the second half.

Leo Lyons and DeMarre Carroll held up fairly well against the Connecticut big men, but freshmen Marcus Denmon and Kim English made just 1 of 7 field goals on the night. Justin Safford and Keith Ramsey almost made up for the lack of production from the youngsters with inspired offensive performances (9 for Safford, 8 for Ramsey), but it wasn’t quite enough. A lackadaisical start may have doomed the Tigers, who looked like they might get blown out in the game’s first 3 minutes. As they have all season, though, this team never quit, all the way up until Zaire Taylors’ 3-pointer with 9 seconds left.

Missouri did what they wanted to in terms of containing Thabeet and forcing turnovers (17 of them), but they couldn’t quite get the breaks like they did Thursday night against Memphis. The worst part about the NCAA tournament is that 64 out of 65 teams have to end their season with a loss, which always seems to stick out more than the wins, no matter how impressive they were.

It’s going to be a long trip back to Columbia for this team and the impressive number of fans that made the trip all the way out West, but upon further reflection, it should be clear that Missouri excelled this year in a way that seemed impossible at the beginning of the season. Plenty of credit goes to Coach Anderson and the seniors who led this team every step of the way, and before you start thinking about next season, Missouri fans should take the time to reflect on the incredible year that was. Regardless of what happens with Anderson and the team in the next few seasons, this year was one to savor.