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Basketball from a fans perspective

You can’t play ALL your games at home!

The defending champion Warriors have quite an interesting win-loss record into January. Games at Chase Center, nobody can beat them, 16 wins and only 2 losses all season. As for the road that’s a slightly different matter, it would appear anyone can beat them. Their road record is almost opposite of home, 3 wins and 16 losses. This is prior to the Monday night game against the Hawks. We realize Steph Curry is sidelined but a portion of the road record was displayed before the injury to Curry.

March 22, 2022

The date above represents the announcement of the Dennis Gates hire. Once Cuonzo Martin was fired one by one players remaining on the roster departed, Gates arrived in Columbia (MO) with much work required since Kobe Brown was the only holdover with major minutes on the court. If we fast forward to January 2, 2023, we find Mizzou in the Top 25 as the number 20 team. Sure this is only a beauty contest with the winner determined the first Monday in April.

As for the recent past if you’d asked me, what did I expect Mizzou basketball to appear by this date my answer would have been simple. “I hope they are competitive” and will be able to adjust to this new coach. The team has exceeded my wildest expectations, no way could I have envisioned this type of season. 12 wins at the end of December with two of them being over Top 25 teams. I certainly don’t expect to go through the balance of the schedule with only the one loss. Whatever occurs the rest of the season will be “icing on top of the cake.”

Bits n Pieces 

The Big 12-SEC Challenge will occur in another few weeks. Question, does it prove superiority of one conference over another…I hardly think so. Despite my belief I guess bragging rights count in some circles. This is written January 1 so there might be changes but at present it we just check out the Top 25 this is the current standings. The Top 25 poll for December 26 contains 5 Big XII teams and 6 SEC teams. With the SEC having an additional team and the Big XII one less is anything proven?   

An oversight on my part I missed reporting on the monster game of Giannis Antetokounmpo. The Bucks forward scored 43 points and pulled down 20 rebounds against the Wolves last Friday. His outstanding game help the Bucks win 124-123 stopping a four-game losing streak. I almost forget, Giannis also contributed 5 assists in the game. It should be noted here, I am one of few who will no longer used the nickname hung on Antetokounmpo by those in the media. No requirement for me to detail it here you are aware, that is all.

This draft talk doesn’t involve that tall French guy, it’s the presumed second pick. Scoot Henderson from G-League Elite will likely be announced as the second draft choice in June. Both have the Hornets drafting Henderson, but do they? The question is asked based on this fact, the Hornets have an exceptional point guard LaMelo Ball. Ball is having an outstanding season thus far scoring 23 points and dishing out nearly 8 assists a game. Here the dilemma becomes evident, Ball plays the point but so does Henderson. Do the Hornets draft Henderson, if they choose him what happens to Ball since both play the same position? Do they trade the draft rights for Henderson to acquire help in a specific area? On the other hand they could trade Ball although that’s not likely to occur. There is no guarantee this plays out as described but what if it does?

TCU is having an excellent year in football and basketball; Horned Frog football is playing for the National Championship against Georgia January 9. This is a basketball blog so let’s discuss that fact, they are ranked number 12 in the nation with a 12-1 record. Much of the media (and most fans) are focused on KU in the Big XII Conference. We could also include Baylor in the conversation…Texas was in the discussion until recently. The drama surrounding Chris Beard leaves Texas in a quandary, few were discussing TCU. Wake up folks, TCU is for real, and they will be a factor in the Big XII race.