Truman State forward McKenna Williams (33) and Missouri guard Ashton Judd (24) fight for a ball during the first half of a game against Truman State on Tuesday, Oct. 29, 2024, at Mizzou Arena. | (CAL TOBIAS/ROCK M NATION)
Shoutout Karen Steger for the great title
As the leaves begin to fall and the temperature starts to drop (slowly), it can only mean one thing; the arrival of winter. And with that comes the return of college basketball.
This will be my second year covering the Mizzou women’s basketball team, and the first here at Rock M. This will be the first of many, many weekly previews over the next five months that has been dubbed “Hoopin’ and Hollerin” by the amazing, creative editor of this article, Karen Steger.
After finishing 11-19 and 2-15 in the SEC, the Tigers were in need of a reset. With four ready-to-play transfers plus several returns from injury, there’s no surprise that this year’s rotation will be completely different from last season’s.
Currently Mizzou is viewed as helpless in the eyes of the national media, ranking 15th in the SEC media poll. But if the Tigers hope to prove those doubters wrong, it all starts in the non-con.
Coach Robin Pingeton’s squad begins their season this week against a pair of solid mid-majors; an away game against Vermont on Monday and the home opener against Southern on Thursday. Here’s a breakdown of each opponent plus some keys to the game for Mizzou.
Control the Pace
Pace, tempo, rhythm. You hear these words aplenty when we talk basketball and the flow of a game. But what does it really mean? Well the simplest explanation is just how fast/slow a team moves. Do they like to get out and run in transition, or do they prefer to hunker down in the half court.
If you spend any time around Coach P, pace of play will almost ALWAYS be brought up in her opening statement, as the Tigers tend to play fast on both end of the courts. Offensively, the move and cut, getting downhill quickly and aren’t afraid to take open threes early in the shot clock. Defensively this manifests in a full court-press, frequent double teams to speed up their opponents and throw off THEIR rhythm.
But this sort of quick-play style comes with consequences. Last year Mizzou struggled with turnovers, finishing bottom three in the conference in terms of turnover margin. But the Tigers made up for the discrepancy with their passing game, finishing 7th in the SEC with a turnover margin of 0.9.
The task will be to keep this ratio while bringing down the total turnovers under new point guard Nyah Wilson. She gave off a strong first impression with four assists and no turnovers in the exhibition win against Truman State.
“Knowing that I have my shooters right beside me or behind me,” Wilson said after the 112-62 exhibition win against Truman State. “Just getting them open off what I can do and then also looking like getting to my shot as well.”
Tough take pic.twitter.com/qgYQA4W7qQ
— Mizzou Basketball (@MizzouWBB) October 30, 2024
The Tigers have the shooting on their roster for a successful season, the question becomes how can they get the ball into their hands and keep it away from the opposition.
Cat-a-Mount an upset?
While many folks would view this Vermont team as an easy win for an SEC opponent, I implore you to look at this matchup closer.
For one, the Catamounts finished 38 spots above Mizzou in the RPI last season thanks to a record of 25-12. They were one win away from the NCAA Tournament, losing in the finals of the America East tournament to Maine. They made an impressive run in the WNIT, making it to the 4th round before losing to SLU.
This is not a team to be toyed with, as they beat Purdue and took a top-25 North Carolina team down to the wire, losing by three. Last year Vermont was led by two double-digit scorers: Emma Utterback (14.3) and Anna Olson (11.6).
While Utterback has graduated, Olson is still around to give the Tigers fits. The 6-foot-1 forward has been the shining example of consistency, scoring double-digits in all four of her seasons up north. All of work comes inside, with a 55.9% field goal and 6.1 rebounds last year.
Coming back for a 5th season was never a question for @UVMwbb forward Anna Olson, and now she’s looking to end her college career on a high note.
Today, Olson talked about what developments she’s making in her game, and how she’s opening her offense on the perimeter.@MyNBC5 pic.twitter.com/AcNgDCtyra
— Noah Cierzan (@ncierzan) October 24, 2024
Now, Mizzou has beaten teams above them in the RPI like Missouri State last year, and is likely to be favored by about double-digits. But with all that said, the Tigers must view this game as it nothing else matters to secure the W.
Big Cat Battle
Next up is the home opener against the Southern Jaguars on Thursday, Nov. 7. Like Vermont, this Southern team had a productive year as a mid-major.
The Jaguars finished 15-15 but 13-5 in SWAC play, with the feeling they had the talent to make the NCAA Tournament. But those goals didn’t materialize, with an upset in the quarterfinals against Alcorn State.
Southern is not afraid of so-called “Power 6” opponents, scheduling nine such matchups last season. The Jaguars only emerged victorious in one, defeating now-SEC foe Oklahoma in Norman.
Nothing has changed this year, as Mizzou is one of 10 top-level opponents as Southern continues to trade easy wins for the chance to play some of the best players in the world. And like last year, it’s only a matter of time before they win one.
Last year this team was stacked head-to-toe with grad students, using their experience and familiarity to blow by teams. But with both double-digit scorers gone, the Jaguars will look to senior Aleighyah Fontenot. She was the key to unlocking the offense with her 3-point game, as Fontenot had her season high of 22 against Oklahoma while shooting 6-9 from threes. If Mizzou hopes to come out on top in front of their home crowd, the Tiger defenders need to know where Fontenot is at all times.
Southern
Aleighyah Fontenot had 22 points against Oklahoma last season. pic.twitter.com/rC5dUvHNcN
— World Exposure Report Women’s Basketball (@WorldExposureWB) September 23, 2024
Player to Watch: Hannah Linthacum
Heading into this year, it’s pretty obvious that Grace Slaughter and Ashton Judd will lead the team offensively and should have no issues putting up double-digits every night. But the question becomes, who will join them? In addition, who can lead the team on the DEFENSIVE side?
I believe that answer may be one and the same. Hannah Linthacum saw plenty of time as a true freshman, starting in 19 games as the center after the injury to UMass transfer Angie Ngalakulondi.
She struggled in year one to keep up with talent of the SEC, as there was a clear adjustment needed headed into year two. Despite starting over half the games, Linthacum only averaged 12.8 minutes that went along with 3.2 points and 2.4 rebounds.
Happy Birthday, @HLinthacum! pic.twitter.com/gIH45A0IF6
— Mizzou Basketball (@MizzouWBB) October 28, 2024
But even with Angie back, it appears that Hannah will start game one at center after she started in the exhibition match against Truman State. While her numbers were modest once again (13 minutes, 4 points and 1 rebound), the physical traits are all there. In year two she looks stronger and even taller.
“I think I’ve tried focusing [on] being more aggressive on defense,” Linthacum said during media day. “Still personally working on trying to be more of an offensive threat.”
With plenty of mid-majors that tend to recruit smaller, it gives Linthacum a chance to use a (hopeful) height advantage on both ends of the floor.
The Tigers open the season at 5 p.m. on Monday, Nov. 4 at Vermont on ESPN+.
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