The Big XII tournament's in town.

The Tigers will come into Kansas City at beautiful Sprint Arena this week staggering after closing the regular season with 3 losses.  I'd normally say it's a new season starting and Missouri can still get some big things done this year, but I have no confidence that will actually happen.  Something's wrong with the team and I'll be damned if I know what it is.  I believe there's plenty of talent and Mike Anderson has a history of getting his teams to peak at tournament time.  Who knows, in 3 weeks the Missouri may be sitting in the sweet 16 and I'll feel like an idiot.  God knows it wouldn't be the first time.  For this to happen, there are going to have to be some things that happen.  I imagine these are obvious to all of you but that's never stopped me from writing about something before and I'll not let it stop me now.

Big men gotta get after it.  Laurence Bowers has been playing well as of late but he's got to get some help.  Steve Moore is usually good for 8 minutes a game or so and 3 or 4 really memorable fouls.  We need him to keep giving out some quality time to give our starters a breather.  Grab a couple of rebounds and wear down the opposition big men and that's all we need.  Ricardo Ratliff is talented but tends to get frustrated sometimes when he's not getting the ball.  I understand but he's just got to keep moving, keep working and stay positive and out of foul trouble.  Justin Safford needs to play within himself and not try to do too much.  Quit taking the 3 ball Justin.

Guards gotta keep their man.  Too many open looks this year.  We were spoiled by JT Tiller and Zaire Taylor the last 2 season.  They were like flies on a bull's butt.  Just irritating as hell.  We've got to quit losing our guys.  On the offensive end I'd like to see more drive and dish and less settling for the 3 point jumper.  Unless you're Marcus Denmon, in which case, don't be shy, shoot more.
The Tigers open Wednesday night at 8:30 against Texas Tech.  Should they win they'll meet up with 3rd seed Texas A&M on Thursday.  I believe the Tigers are already firmly in the NCAA tournament but I'd really like to see them win at least on in KC.  If you're in the area, or even if you're not, it would be nice to see a large Missouri crowd out making some noise.  After the game we can head over to Power & Light.  The first one's on me.