Mizzou set for road trip to Pittsburgh for inaugural ACC/SEC Challenge
COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)
The Mizzou men's basketball team will hope to see more consistency, across the board, in the Tigers' Tuesday night match up against Pittsburgh in the inagural ACC/SEC Challenge.
It will be head coach Dennis Gates and company's second true road test of the season. The first came against Minnesota when MU mounted a 20-point second half comeback to get the win in Minneapolis.
"Two different environments, two different teams," he said. "I think, ultimately, you look at the scoring ability of Pittsburgh. Pittsburgh has put up 100 points twice this season, but also you know their ability to hold their opponents to the percentages that they have from the 3-point line. We got to be able to knock down our shots on the road and concentrate and not wait until that second half. We're gonna go out there focused on being able to catch and shoot and obviously the environment will pose the threat."
You can watch the full press conference with Gates in the video player below.
To Gates' point, the Panthers have held opponents to about a 23 percent shooting from 3-point range. Gates said they do a very good job at contesting shots and forcing one or two more passes. In addition to that, Pitt has only registered 60 turnovers in six games.
The Pittsburgh roster is highlighted by senior forward Blake Hinson. He averages about 19 points per game on 42 percent shooting from the field.
"You're talking about an all-conference guy," Gates said. "He's a kid that's shooting 35 [percent] plus from the three and also a kid that's close to averaging 20 points per game. When you look at his numbers, it's a precise, it's a precise 20 points. It's not one of those 20 points where he's taking 20 shots, he has efficiency in those stats. Ultimately, what we have to continue to do is not foul him, since he's doing a good job getting to the foul line."
Gates and company will roll into Pittsburgh off of a 78-70 win over Loyola Maryland at Mizzou Arena, on Saturday. After that game, Gates mentioned he wanted to see more consistency from his team. He pointed out that the only player he's seen real consistency from is true freshman guard Anthony Robinson, who has been working off the bench.
The consistency piece is something Gates said comes from in-game experience, but adds that he feels like his guys are settling into their roles, seven games into the year now.
"The other thing that you look at is big picture, the big picture of a season. Different things come and go and we just got to be prepared when our numbers are called," Gates said.
Mizzou and Pittsburgh will tip off at 6:30 p.m. CT in the first-ever ACC/SEC Challenge on Tuesday, Nov, 28. The game will air on ESPNU.
