MARCH 2010: Any hopes for Missouri to play deep into March madness depends on the fragile knee of Justin Safford.

Safford, a 6-8 starting junior forward, tore the anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee in the Tigers’ victory on Feb. 24 at Colorado. While there is never a good time for an injury, this
is the worst possible timing – just before March Madness.

Without Safford, who is averaging 9.9 points in Big 12 play, the Tigers do not have the firepower or depth to defeat topnotch programs. A lengthy run in the NCAA Tournament, like last year when the Tigers advanced to the Elite Eight before falling to Connecticut 82-75 in Glendale, Ariz., seems highly unlikely.

The Tigers are not ruling out Safford for any post-season tournaments. Coach Mike Anderson said Safford will rehab his injured knee instead of having season-ending surgery.

“Justin is doing great with his rehabilitation, and it’s something we are going to keep an eye on,” Anderson said in a statement. “What that means for this season, we’ll just have to wait
and see.”

In addition to his offense, Safford is averaging 4.5 rebounds and 21.7 minutes per game in conference play. Even is Safford does return, he is not likely to be at 100 percent and in tournament play there is scant rest between games for the body to recover.

Steve Moore, a 6-9 sophomore from Indepen-dence Truman High, played 19 minutes in the loss at Kansas State with Safford watching in street clothes. While Moore did not score, he blocked five shots. Laurence Bowers, another sophomore who is averaging 9.6 points in Big 12 play but has started only six games this season, logged 23 minutes against the Wildcats, but he too failed to score, going 0-for-7 from the field.

The Tigers won’t win too many games in March with limited scoring threats from the front line. Missouri’s front line of DeMarre Carroll and Leo Lyons was a strong suit last season as the two led the team in scoring and rebounding, but they are gone. The Tigers had no one to fill those big shoes this season.

Kim English, a sophomore guard, leads the team in scoring in Big 12 play, averaging 12.7 points, while Marcus Denmon, a sophomore from Kansas City Hogan Prep, is averaging 11.1 points.

Seniors Zaire Taylor and J.J. Tiller have not fulfilled expectations this season and they must step up for Missouri to win in March. Taylor is averaging 8.4 points for the season and hitting just 35.6 percent of his shots in the Big 12 play. He hit 45.1 percent of his field goals attempts last year in conference play.

Tiller was the Tigers’ third leading scorer as a junior in conference playing, averaging
8.6 points and hitting 45 percent of his shots for the season. This year Tiller is averaging 7.6 points per game in conference, while hitting 41.3 percent. He is connecting on just 18.2 percent of his treys.

Mike Dixon Jr., a freshman from Lee’s Summit West, has averaged 17 points and 5.4 points, while starting eight games.

Nobody likes to play the Tigers and their smothering defense in a tournament. They have held conference opponents to fewer than 69 points a game. It is next to impossible to prepare for the Missouri attacking defense on a short notice, giving the Tigers an advantage in tournament play for opponents that have not seen it.

Yet, this season Missouri lacks the experience – they are a sophomore-oriented team which bodes well for next season – and talent on the front line to make it as far as the team did last year. The Tigers have put together another 20-victory season, so it could be classified as a good season. It just won’t be considered great, duplicating the 31-victories of the 2008-09 Tigers.