Missouri’s men’s basketball season – and perhaps the Cuonzo Martin era – came to a crashing conclusion on Thursday afternoon.
LSU dominated, winning 76-68 and featured the former Missouri guard Xavier Pinson in the first half.
Pinson, a senior out of Chicago, Illinois, played his first three years for head coach Cuonzo Martin. In Thursday’s clash, Pinson scored 11 points in the first half while dishing out 5 assists.
“He is a good basketball player,” Martin said postgame. “He is a guy that started almost three years before he got to this point, so he understands how to play basketball.”
LSU put constant pressure on Missouri’s offense with their signature full-court pressure defense. Missouri put up their season-high in turnovers because of it at 24.
“We weren’t very assertive and I thought we were passive against the press,” said Martin.
Despite a 39-23 halftime deficit, Mizzou did play much better in the second half. They did this through breaking through the press and running a much more disciplined offense.
“I thought the guys did a great job of executing the game plan, reading the defense,” Martin said.
Martin has been on the hot seat all year for Missouri. With this loss, it will be up to athletic director Desiree Reed-Francois to decide on Martin’s future.
“If that is the best thing for both parties, then that’s the best thing for both parties,” Martin said. “But I won’t waste any time with that. Whatever happens, happens.”
One of the bright spots for Mizzou was freshman center Trevon Brazile. Throughout the year, he has shown significant growth, and that culminated with a personal collegiate-high 15 points on Thursday.
“I feel like the last couple of weeks I’ve been more aggressive,” Brazile said. “I just have been trying to work on defense and rebound.”
He also finished with eight rebounds to go with two blocks and two steals.
The most surprising performance came from freshman Efton Reid. The 7-foot center used every ounce of his big 238-pound frame to perfectly put himself in positions to score.
Reid was very efficient in the post, putting up 12 points, going 6-for-6 from the field.
LSU will play tomorrow in the quarterfinals against Arkansas, whom they have lost to twice.