Miami worries: Can Missouri reclaim the mo?

March 13, 2002

University of Miami basketball coach Perry Clark half-snorted when asked if he was pleased the Hurricanes will have to play the Missouri Tigers at 10:40 a.m. Thursday at The Pit in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.

“What do you think?” he asked.

Well, considering certain facts about Missouri, one thought is that Clark feels his team deserved a less-talented first-round opponent after its 24-7 season.

Missouri boasts one of the nation’s most dangerous players in junior guard Kareem Rush, a possible NBA lottery pick if he chooses to skip his senior year. Preseason expectations were so high that the Tigers climbed to a No. 2 national ranking after a 9-0 start.

“I think the (No. 2) ranking earlier this season was a recognition of their talent,” Clark said. “I think Missouri is extremely talented. If it wasn’t for about 11 points, they could very well be a two seed. They’ve played some awfully tight basketball teams with some people.”

The Tigers’ free fall – they went 12-11 after that fast start – dropped them out of the polls and nearly out of the tournament. They, along with Utah and Tulsa, are the lowest-seeded teams to receive at-large bids.

But lost in that surprising skid is that the Tigers often kept it close. Whether through bad luck or an inability to pull out close games, Missouri dropped six games by a combined 15 points.

They lost by one point to lowly DePaul, four to Iowa State, one to Baylor, two to Texas, three to No. 1 Kansas and four to Texas in the Big 12 quarterfinals.

Missouri coach Quin Snyder admitted he and his players were uncertain if they would make the tournament.

“We were really sweating our chance with the selection show,” he said. “We know that Miami’s a really good team, and we’ve got our work cut out for us, but I’m thrilled that our season gets to continue.”

Rush will be one of the most explosive players in Albuquerque this weekend. At 19.8 points a game, Rush is the Big 12’s second-leading scorer and a first-team all-conference selection. He is toying with the idea of turning professional after this season, saying it will depend on where he thinks he would get drafted.

Three other Tigers average more than 10 points per game. Senior guard Clarence Gilbert (17.0 ppg) has a reputation as a gunner and shoots less than 40 percent from the field. Arthur Johnson (12.2 ppg) is the team’s leading rebounder (8.0 rpg). And Rickey Paulding is a dangerous 3-point shooter, hitting 43 percent from beyond the arc.

Miami also stumbled after a fast start. The Hurricanes were 14-0 until Connecticut beat them 76-75 on Jan. 5 and were one of the nation’s last remaining undefeated teams. Since then, they’ve gone 10-7.

The Hurricanes have an impressive starting five with balanced scoring, but they have little depth. The starting five accounts for about 86 percent of the team’s scoring. The leading scorer off the bench, former University of New Mexico forward Rafael Berumen, averages just 2.9 points a game.

The Hurricanes are led by forward Darius Rice, who averages 14.9 points a game.

Though Clark says the Hurricanes are facing a challenging No. 12 seed, Snyder is clinging to his team’s underdog status as a motivating factor.

“We’re the 12 seed, so we’re not supposed to be beating anybody,” Snyder said. “But somehow we always get turned into the favorite.”