OPINION |
Rarely has a game at low profile, constantly rebuilding Valparaiso been as important to Missouri State’s basketball program as the one awaiting on Saturday.
We saw the Bears dig through the dirt of their pending basketball grave with a thrilling 83-80, double-overtime, home-court victory on Jan. 24 over Drake, one of the league’s elite teams.
Rallying from 16 points behind late in the first half, the Bears recaptured their promising form seen prior to Christmas. With a 9-4 record and a road win over St. Mary’s, which is now a top-25 team in the NCAA NET rankings, hopes were high entering January.
So now there is renewed hope — but it will mean nothing if Missouri State regresses at Valparaiso and falls flat at Southern Illinois on Jan. 31.
“We had some really bad lows coming into this game,” forward Cesare Edwards said after the win over Drake. “We knew how important this game was and to show everybody what we’re capable of. We can build off this game.”
Rough patch shows how fragile success is
The common and fair question about the Bears after beating Drake is “Where has this team been?” It goes to show how fragile success is, particularly at the college level, when teams and individuals lose confidence.
The first game of 2024 resulted in an emotionally crushing two-point home loss to Northern Iowa. The hangover from that game lingered and confidence disappeared as Missouri State lost five out of six, bottoming out with a home loss to Illinois State on Jan. 20.
Confidence is something that winning teams cannot be without, no matter how much effort they play with. Shotmaking remains the basis for success and some key players, notably gifted forward Chance Moore, quit making shots during the slide. Moore has missed 20 of 23 3-pointers since the new year began and guard Matthew Lee is 6-for-31 from the field. Moore’s determination on defense has been notable, but for the Bears to be at their best, Moore needs to regain his accuracy and Lee needs to be better overall.
Bears found success in the paint against Drake
Against Drake, the Bears took the ball inside more than they have in several weeks, resulting in a 20-6 advantage in second-chance points. Missouri State’s 34 points in the paint was its most in that area this month.
Alston Mason, with a career-high 36 points, did a lot of his work taking the ball to the hoop, with eight two-point field goals. As a result, Mason had higher-quality long-range looks and made 5 of 11 3-pointers, a 45% accuracy that is acceptable any day of the week.
“Our team needs to throw the ball inside,” coach Dana Ford said. “You can’t just shoot 3s. I thought Donny (Clay) got one early, N.J. (Benson) got a couple. We attacked the basket. Cesare (Edwards) in the second half and overtime got the ball in there and scored.
“Mason got downhill a few times. It just gave our offense balance.”
Playing with a chip on their shoulder
Mason said the players felt they hit rock bottom with the Illinois State loss and were aware that few outside their inner circle expected them to beat Drake. That seemed to take some pressure off for a team that felt like it was carrying an elephant herd on its collective back. It’s easier to play with a chip on your shoulder, the old us-against-the-world mentality.
“I think we all understood that we were capable,” Mason said. “It was more about having the fight in us to try and get this win.”
As for what the win does for confidence going forward, Mason said “a lot. It does a lot.”
“We came into this game with honestly nothing to lose,” Mason added. “The last loss hurt a lot. Seeing this changes the momentum for us and can really get us going.”
Too much talent for this group not to play winning basketball
At 11-9 overall and 3-6 in the Valley, the Bears are too far behind to realistically make a title charge or probably to get into the top four of the standings and earn the all-important first-day bye at the Valley Tournament. But there’s too much talent for this group not to play winning basketball and build some momentum for Arch Madness.
Mason has emerged as one of the top players in the league and Clay is a premier defender. For any hopes of a tourney run, Moore and Mason will need to emerge and Ford will have to find lineup combinations that work well together. Having a full roster of healthy players sometimes is a bigger challenge than using a tight rotation of seven.
Ford said it’s up to the coaches to unlock the combination of success for those who are struggling. Words or techniques that might work for one player won’t necessarily connect with another. Team chemistry is an evolving process, even for the Drakes and Indiana States of the Valley.
“We’ve got to make sure we say the right thing to the right player at the right time to keep our connection,” Ford said. “Then we have to keep working. A lot of our struggles have just been a disconnect and those things happen. They typically don’t happen with so many guys at one time.
“We had a pretty good connection” against Drake, Ford said. “Nick (Kramer), Raphe (Ayres), Donny and Cesare, Alston, (Damien) Mayo … even some guys off the bench. There’s still a few guys that we have to continue to counsel and say the right word until we get to that word that clicks.”
‘Sometimes you need a win'
Coaches can search and preach and plead and prod, but there’s no substitute for winning and the confidence it brings.
“Sometimes you need a win,” Ford said after the Drake game. “We’ve been telling our guys that sometimes in life you get into a crappy situation. Some people are born into it, some people step into it by accident, some people have it thrown on them. Eventually, you’re going to get into some crap and you have to clean yourself off first.
“Our guys have to keep working and digging in, working and digging in. The wins give you some type of confirmation that your efforts are working. That’s why the losses are hard. Our guys continue to work hard. We have a lot of ball left.”
Mason said the players didn’t quit on each other, or their coaches, during the ugly 1-5 stretch. They certainly won’t now, after the biggest win of the season.
“We’re a very capable team, capable of being one of the best teams in this league,” Mason said. “It’s up to us and how we approach it.”
