If they were making a film about Missouri's 97-95 victory at Oklahoma State on Wednesday, to capture the essence of the game they might call it "Gone In Slightly More Than 60 Seconds."
For all the young basketball players in the audience, they might run a disclaimer: "Kids, don't try this at home." With 3:58 to play and a timeout on the floor at Gallagher-Iba Arena, the Tigers had the ball and a 91-76 lead. OSU fans were heading for the exits.
Seventy-five seconds later, the picture was entirely different. With 2:43 to play, the lead was just five points, 94-89. Thirty seconds later, it was 94-91. And with 47 seconds still to tick, Missouri had spent all but one point of its big, comfy lead, 96-95. You want to talk about closing issues ? the Cardinals got nothin' on these Tigers.
"I think towards the end, we just kind of panicked a little bit," Missouri forward DeMarre Carroll said. "When you are in an environment like Oklahoma State, it's not an easy place to win. It's probably one of the toughest arenas to win at in the Big 12."
True enough, the bottom line is positive. The Tigers hung on for a victory. But over that final 3:58, Missouri effectively stuck its chin out and begged to be punched.
The Tigers committed five fouls, frequently putting the Cowboys on the line and stopping the clock, a no-no with a big lead in the final minutes. One of the fouls was intentional, creating a six-point swing in one possession. There also were four turnovers and five missed free throws in the messy mix.
"I think what happened is they got kind of lackadaisical," Missouri coach Mike Anderson said. "I think maybe the crowd got to them a little bit. I think we'll learn from it, we'll learn to make better decisions."
Now 16-3 overall and 3-1 in the conference, the survivors return home to play Texas Tech at Mizzou Arena, hoping they got a little wiser with the big win at OSU.
"I just think it's some stuff that we have to go back and get in the laboratory and learn from," Carroll said. "It should make us a better team."
Missouri teammates rallied behind freshman Marcus Denmon, whose indiscretion fueled Oklahoma State's wild comeback. After OSU's James Anderson made two free throws, Denmon lost the ball in the backcourt and intentionally fouled OSU's Terrel Harris as he went in for a dunk. Harris made two free throws, the Cowboys retained possession and scored again on a Harris put-back."We told Marcus to keep his head up," said Carroll. "He's a freshman, never been in the environment. You can do that in high school and get away with it, but away from home, you really can't get away with it."
Denmon hardly deserves to be singled out. While the senior Carroll scored 19 points with a terrific effort, he had two turnovers in the closing moments, mistakes he readily acknowledged. He made amends with the play of the game, a block of a Harris 3-point attempt with seven seconds remaining.
"I turned the ball over twice the previous plays, can't make any excuses," Carroll said. "I knew if I didn't make that block, all eyes were going to be on me."
For all the young basketball players in the audience, they might run a disclaimer: "Kids, don't try this at home." With 3:58 to play and a timeout on the floor at Gallagher-Iba Arena, the Tigers had the ball and a 91-76 lead. OSU fans were heading for the exits.
Seventy-five seconds later, the picture was entirely different. With 2:43 to play, the lead was just five points, 94-89. Thirty seconds later, it was 94-91. And with 47 seconds still to tick, Missouri had spent all but one point of its big, comfy lead, 96-95. You want to talk about closing issues ? the Cardinals got nothin' on these Tigers.
"I think towards the end, we just kind of panicked a little bit," Missouri forward DeMarre Carroll said. "When you are in an environment like Oklahoma State, it's not an easy place to win. It's probably one of the toughest arenas to win at in the Big 12."
True enough, the bottom line is positive. The Tigers hung on for a victory. But over that final 3:58, Missouri effectively stuck its chin out and begged to be punched.
The Tigers committed five fouls, frequently putting the Cowboys on the line and stopping the clock, a no-no with a big lead in the final minutes. One of the fouls was intentional, creating a six-point swing in one possession. There also were four turnovers and five missed free throws in the messy mix.
"I think what happened is they got kind of lackadaisical," Missouri coach Mike Anderson said. "I think maybe the crowd got to them a little bit. I think we'll learn from it, we'll learn to make better decisions."
Now 16-3 overall and 3-1 in the conference, the survivors return home to play Texas Tech at Mizzou Arena, hoping they got a little wiser with the big win at OSU.
"I just think it's some stuff that we have to go back and get in the laboratory and learn from," Carroll said. "It should make us a better team."
Missouri teammates rallied behind freshman Marcus Denmon, whose indiscretion fueled Oklahoma State's wild comeback. After OSU's James Anderson made two free throws, Denmon lost the ball in the backcourt and intentionally fouled OSU's Terrel Harris as he went in for a dunk. Harris made two free throws, the Cowboys retained possession and scored again on a Harris put-back."We told Marcus to keep his head up," said Carroll. "He's a freshman, never been in the environment. You can do that in high school and get away with it, but away from home, you really can't get away with it."
Denmon hardly deserves to be singled out. While the senior Carroll scored 19 points with a terrific effort, he had two turnovers in the closing moments, mistakes he readily acknowledged. He made amends with the play of the game, a block of a Harris 3-point attempt with seven seconds remaining.
"I turned the ball over twice the previous plays, can't make any excuses," Carroll said. "I knew if I didn't make that block, all eyes were going to be on me."
