MVN - Most Valuable Network

Mizzou’s stay in KC could be short

Oh long, forgotten MVN…how I’ve neglected you. I guess I thought that if I didn’t post for awhile this season would disappear along with my writing. Wrong.

So here we are, in Kansas City, for the first round of the Big 12 Tournament as it makes its glorious return to the City of Fountains—the city that gave birth to the competition and nurtured it through its adolescence, only to have it ripped out from its arms by the big bad Texans.

But whatever, it’s baaaaaaack. And this is downtown KC’s coming-out party, as the new Power & Light District will be introduced to thousands of people for the first time. The Sprint Center, if you haven’t been, is one of the finest basketball facilities in the country, and now there’s an entertainment district to match that.

Now to Mizzou. Something tells me that the Tigers will be in and out of KC before they even have a chance to stop and smell the barbeque.

As the No. 10 seed, Mizzou draws Nebraska for Thursday night’s game. I don’t like this matchup one bit. I think the Tigers would match up better against Oklahoma State or Texas Tech (both teams that they’ve lost to earlier this season), and that’s because of one reason: Aleks Maric.

Mike Anderson can’t find anyone to defend this guy. In the first meeting of the season, a shorthanded Tigers loss, Maric was held to just 13 points but also grabbed 13 rebounds. That performance was seen as a victory for Mizzou.

The second time around? Even though Mizzou won in overtime, Maric blew up with 32 points and 16 boards. Needless to say, playing in what could be his last collegiate game Thursday nigt, he won’t go down easy.

And I think the Tigers will.

No one wants this season to go on. Really. Underclassmen are already looking forward to seven fresh faces in the fall, and the seniors want the worst four years in Mizzou basketball history to just end already.

What would a win on Thursday do? If the Tigers aren’t in the NIT now, they won’t be with a win over Nebraska either. Does anyone really want to see the season end with a blowout at the hands of Kansas in KC? I don’t.

I’d almost rather go quietly into the night, forgotten and unseen, and hibernate until October. I can’t take this anymore; games aren’t fun to watch. But as long as they keep playing, I’ll have to keep watching. It’s the curse I was born into.

Now if you’ll excuse me, I’m off to the Sprint Center.

Tigers get win in 2 OTs

They dragged it out for as long as they possibly could.

In the final home game of the season that never ends, Mizzou kept the smattering of fans at Mizzou Arena Wednesday night for two-and-a-half hours before prevailing over the Iowa State Cyclones in double-overtime 81-75.

Mizzou sent its seniors off right after a disappointing season and a rough four years. Jason Horton, Marshall Brown, Darryl Butterfield, and Vaidotus Volkus never played in an NCAA Tournament. Volkus and Butterfield were JUCO transfers, but Brown and Horton have been in Columbia since 2004. They’ve experienced rock-bottom with this program, and it’s painful to see a class go out this way.

Mr. Clutch, Leo Lyons, was relegated to the bench for Wednesday night’s Senior Day and missed a shot at the end of regulation that would have given the Tigers a victory. But continued his string of good games and still finished with 19 points and nine rebounds. But the star of the show was DeMarre Carroll.

Where has this guy been all season? No, I know, I’ve seen No. 1 out on the court a lot over the past few months, but not this guy. This was the guy everyone was expecting, hoping for, when we saw him for the first time.

Carroll scored 23 points in the season opener, then largely disappeared for the season. OK, so 13 points per game is nothing to be ashamed of, but he hadn’t scored 20 points in conference play before Wednesday, which is disappointing considering the hype surrounding his arrival.

Nevertheless, Carroll had a career-high 26 points to go along with boards, and it was his clutch play—not Lyons’—that gave Mizzou the W.

I have to admit: his baby hook is nasty. Nasty in a good way, or nasty as in hideous? Well both, I guess. It is unsightly, as he winds up for his line drive that often finds the back of the iron, but sometimes, like Wednesday night, it’s effective.

Carroll shot 11-20—not great—but Coach Anderson will take better than 50 percent shooting any night.

So Mizzou overcame Keon Lawrence, seemingly the team’s leader since losing Stefhon Hannah, fouling out in regulation and rode Carroll to victory. The win puts the Tigers at 16-14 on the season and locks them into either the Nos. 9 or 10 seeds in the Big 12 Tournament next week in Kansas City.

Ho hum. That’s the sentiment in Columbia. Just 7,000 fans showed up, the student section was half empty, and the cold weather won’t end. Everyone’s apathetic toward this team and is waiting for next football season.

Only six weeks ’til the spring game, if you’re scoring at home.

Mizzou blows lead to Baylor

Same old story. Same old season. Is it over yet?

The Missouri Tigers showed some positives by staying with the Bears in the first half and building an improbable 13-point second-half lead. But, of course, they couldn’t hold on to the advantage and lost 100-89.

Mizzou has now fallen to 5-9 in conference play, good enough for 10th place in the Big 12. Ouch. As bad as last season was, the Tigers still managed to earn the 6th seed in the conference tournament. They went on, however, to lose to these same Baylor Bears in the first round.
But there was one bright spot Saturday in Waco. You guessed it: Leo Lyons. This man is a beast, and he’s really found his groove. Yep, 6-Plus posted Beasley-like numbers again against the Bears, as he finished with 22 points and 15 rebounds.

And this time, Six even got some help.

Keon Lawrence scored 19 and DeMarre Carroll had 17. Offense wasn’t the problem Saturday; Mizzou scored 89 points in 40 minutes, but that doesn’t do much good when you let up 100.

The Tigers allowed seven Bears to score in double-figures, and they saw their 13-point lead erased by a 14-0 Baylor run. Mizzou allowed 100 points for the second time in four games—not something you’d expect out of a team that prides itself on its aggressive defense.

But this is Missouri, after all, and you never know what to expect from Mike Anderson’s bunch. It’s like they could beat Texas one night and lose to Iowa State the next—oh wait, they did.

Don’t misinterpret this team as packing it in. Anderson won’t let his boys give up, and they’re not. Lyons is playing the best he has all season, which I’m sure is giving energy to his teammates. Matt Lawrence is finally starting to connect from long range, and Keon continues to improve.

It’s just that Mizzou is not very good. Face it: a 15-14 season is terrible. The sad thing is that the Tigers are a few bounces away from the NCAA bubble. Illinois, Arkansas, California, Iowa State, Texas A&M, and Oklahoma State are all games that this team was set to win. At 21-8 with those quality wins, this team would be a lock. Unfortunately, the ball has bounced the other way this season, and the Tigers are struggling to make the NIT.

March is here, and Mizzou better savor it because they won’t be playing many more games. Now the Tigers return home Wednesday to take on the Cyclones again in an important matchup. Why’s that? Well, their No. 10 seed depends on it!

Lyons, Tigers fall short of OK State

If this is any indication of next season, Tiger fans should not be able to help but smile.

Wait, you mean, Missouri lost? Again? Yes, this one was a heartbreaker, as the Tigers allowed a tie-breaking bucket with 1.7 seconds left and went on to lose 75-73 to the red-hot Oklahoma State Cowboys. So what’s to smile about?

Leo Lyons.

That’s what.

Lyons completely took over the game Tuesday night and managed to sustain the short spurts we’ve seen previously for a full 40 minutes. While his team let him down in his first start in 10 games, Leo inflicted his own 40 minutes of hell on the Cowboys.

Final line: 12-13 shooting, 27 points, 18 rebounds. Both were career highs, and these shots weren’t layups. No, he pulled up from 18 feet, faded away, and still found nothing but nylon.

It was a spectacle.

It’s the most impressed I’ve been all season while leaving the arena. Seriously, if you weren’t one of the 7,692 to witness this performance or the few cable subscribers with ESPNU, you missed out.

These are Michael Beasley numbers. Kevin Durant numbers. All-American numbers. The difference between Lyons and them is that All-Americans put those numbers up 90 percent of the time. Leo? Well, this was the first time.

So, could the amateur rapper become Mizzou’s first All-American since Melvin Booker 14 years ago? I’ll just say that I think 6-Plus has some work to do.

Mike Anderson came to Mizzou to find a raw, lazy, unmotivated player wearing a black and gold No. 5. Little did he—or anyone else—know that this No. 5 would turn out to be the brightest spot in a grim season in Columbia this year. A reason for hope.

Anderson’s got to be ecstatic, although there’s no way in hell his expression would ever show it. Six (I think I’ll refer to him as that from now on) worked hard over the summer when his teammates were playing video games, commuting back to Kansas City every week for Pro-Am games. He found a desire, a passion, and it’s showed this season.

Now, Six has become the Tigers’ best shooter. And 12 of 13? Downright ridiculous. Even for one night, that’s unthinkable.

I almost don’t care that the Tigers dropped a game they should have won; that’s happened all season. But this is the best I’ve felt about a loss in awhile. Thanks, Six.

Is there any way he can keep this up for the whole season next year, that’s what you’re asking. It’s what everyone’s asking. The short answer is “no,” there’s no way Lyons will average 27 and 18 next season. But what about 20 and 12? With his ability and new-found passion, that could go a long way for next year’s team, one that should be competitive in March.

Until then, enjoy this season’s occasional bright spots, and dream about next season’s possibilities.