蜜芽传媒

They don鈥檛 just score, they pour 鈥� 3 after 3, if only because they can鈥檛 shoot a 4.

The rain won鈥檛 let up in Columbia, where Mizzou鈥檚 Tigers are among the Southeastern Conference鈥檚 top 3-point shooting teams 鈥� in fact, the Tigers trail Texas by a 10th of a point for the lead (37.3% to 37.4%).

Much is made about coach Dennis Gates鈥� recruiting 鈥� with both this year鈥檚 freshman class and transfer class 鈥� but his coaching has also been outstanding this season, be it his team鈥檚 ability to force turnovers, get to the foul line, navigate touch scheduling or hit a 3 or three. On Monday, the Tigers moved up to No. 20 in The Associated Press鈥檚 men鈥檚 basketball poll, thanks to their 3-point performance against Mississippi last Saturday.

鈥�(Tamar) Bates and (Caleb) Grill had special games,鈥� Mississippi coach Chris Beard told reporters after his No. 16-ranked club lost in Columbia. 鈥淚 think of those guys go 9 of 15 from 3-point line between them, I don鈥檛 think they鈥檒l lose many games in the SEC. Those are two of the best players in the league, and they had A-plus performances tonight.鈥�

It鈥檚 easy to get ahead of ourselves. 鈥淭hey look like a tournament team,鈥� says every Benjamin Hochman about every above-average college hoops squad. But with Mizzou, their ability to bury a team with 3s has become a weapon 鈥� Mizzou (16-4) is now 12-0 when it makes eight 3s or more. Throw in the free throws (28.6 per game, second-most behind Winthrop) and the steals (10.1 per game, sixth-most) and Mizzou sure looks like a dynamic force.

Now, Bates or Mark Mitchell are Mizzou鈥檚 two best players, but Grill is proving to be indispensable. Consider, of course, that Grill leads the nation in 3-point shooting percentage. The nation! The 24-year-old (yes, COVID-year players still linger in the sport) shoots 48.9% from beyond the arc 鈥� the guys tied for second place, Kentucky鈥檚 Koby Brea and Drake鈥檚 Mitch Mascari 鈥� are at 46.4%. That鈥檚 a quite a gap.

With his feet set, Grill reminds one of the silky Kareem Rush; when he shoots off-balance, Grill reminds one of Rush鈥檚 turn-of-the-century teammate Clarence Gilbert. Both were historic hoisters of 3s in Tiger history. Gilbert has made the most 3s in a season for Mizzou (and the third-most and the eighth-most), while Rush has the single-season mark for 3-point percentage (44.8% in 2000-01), though Grill is on pace to careen Kareem from the top spot.

But it鈥檚 not only Grill shooting 3s in opponents鈥� grills. Mizzou鈥檚 starting five players for the past six games (and for the foreseeable future) are shooting better from 3 (46.9%) than from 2 (44.7%).

And Mizzou is steadfast that it鈥檒l play a certain way. In a recent 61-53 loss to the Longhorns, Mizzou shot just 4 for 22 from downtown.

鈥淵ou don鈥檛 change anything 鈥� you just tighten the screws and see what鈥檚 loose, see what鈥檚 not,鈥� said Gates, whose Tigers play next on Saturday against No. 14 Mississippi State. 鈥淢aybe it鈥檚 an angle of a screen. Maybe it鈥檚 one less dribble or one more dribble. You just figure you the nuances that have gotten you here. You can鈥檛 just rip up a playbook and change everything or second-guess yourself. I鈥檓 not going to second guess our guys. I want every single guy to take the same exact shots that they have taken at Texas because they were the same ones that they were taking at Florida.鈥�

In that game against the Gators, the Tigers splashed 11 3-pointers. That was the same amount made in the game following the Texas loss 鈥� which, yup, was the win against coach Beard鈥檚 team.

And the Tigers impressively create offense from their defense. It really is masterful.

鈥淥ur mindset (against Ole Miss),鈥� Bates said, 鈥渨as to not let the defensive side of the ball be dictated on if we were making or missing shots or not. I feel like because we came in with a mindset to get stops and to play defense and to stop the man in front of us and help the helper if somebody gets beat, that in turn gave us energy. It gave the ball energy and helped us make shots.鈥�

In 16 wins this season, the Tigers have made 9.6 3-pointers per game with a 39.7% clip. In the four losses, Mizzou made just 5.3 per game and shot 25.6%.

Many of those big wins have been in SEC play. The Tigers are 5-2. Last year, one might recall, Mizzou was winless in conference play.

Mizzou (37.3%) is currently 42nd in 3-point shooting in the country. Last season, the Tigers placed 281st (31.8%), thus they鈥檝e bettered their rank by 239 spots.

Since the first Mizzou 3-point attempt 鈥� a make by Lynn Hardy on Nov. 28, 1986 鈥� Tigers have heaving 3s for generations, from Lee Coward to Paul O鈥橪iney, Gilbert to Rush, Matt Lawrence to Marcus Denmon, Jordan Barnett to Kassius Robertson (the Southeastern Conference鈥檚 Stephen Curry in that thrilling 2017-18 season). Grill is on his way to make some school history, too.

Most importantly for the black-and-gold faithful, it鈥檚 part of winning basketball for, yes, what looks like a tournament team.