COLUMBIA, Mo.—Just as Missouri gets going in the Big 12 portion of the schedule, the team is dealing with more adversity.
The Tigers (13-3, 0-1 Big 12) host Colorado Wednesday in the conference home opener, but they’ll be without one of their best players. Leo Lyons was suspended indefinitely by coach Mike Anderson on Monday, a day after Lyons was stopped for not having his car lights on and failure to have proof of insurance. Officers then discovered Lyons had failed to pay a traffic ticket from 2006. It isn’t clear when he’ll be allowed to return.
The loss of the 6-foot-9 senior, who is second on the team in both scoring (14.6 points per game) and rebounds (6.2), will make it even harder to bounce back from a 56-51 loss at Nebraska in the Big 12 opener on Saturday.
Lyons’ teammates remain confident.
“I don’t think it’s going to change much because we got guys who have played great minutes for us this year,” forward Matt Lawrence said. “It’s always tough losing a great player like Leo but we got guys who are going to use this as an opportunity to move us forward.”
Lyons’ absence gives role players like Keith Ramsey, Justin Safford and Laurence Bowers the chance to fill in and show the depth that Anderson has raved about. The trio averages a combined 10 points per game, and all three have shown a knack for making plays on defense.
After watching his team give up easy baskets at Nebraska, Anderson is keen on seeing a better defensive effort against Colorado (8-6, 0-0).
“I always say we are going to be the ultimate team so now we give an opportunity to these guys who are playing well,” Anderson said. “Hopefully those guys are looking forward to the challenge to show what they can do because they’re a big part of our team.”
Ramsey, a junior college transfer, has made a splash as a rebounding and shot-blocking specialist for the Tigers.
“Keith and Justin are both ready but I think Keith may be a little more because he has found his niche,” said DeMarre Carroll, Missouri’s leading scorer and rebounder. “He gets out there and brings energy to protect the goal. When you have someone back there not giving up easy lay-ups it allows us to take more chances defensively with some steals, so we shouldn’t really miss a beat.”
At Nebraska, the Tigers shot just 39 percent.
“We can play a lot better basketball than that and I think we have proven that in the past,” guard Zaire Taylor said. “It’s easy to say, ‘We’re going to go out and fix this,’ but now we have to go out and actually prove it.”
Carroll scored just seven points at Nebraska, just the second time this season that he has been held below 10. He was hassled by multiple Nebraska defenders for much of the game. It’s attention he fully expects to get again without Lyons in the lineup, but he feels the Tigers can negate it if they play their usual up-tempo style.
“If we can do that, then I can’t worry too much about the double- and triple-teams,” Carroll said.
Missouri dug itself into a 7-0 hole early against Nebraska and never quite made up the difference.
“We got to get off to better starts more than anything else,” Anderson said. “Let’s go back to the drawing board and back to the team that we are.”
