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Tag: Mizzous
Is Mizzou’s Caleb Grill the nation’s best shooter?
Missouri guard Caleb Grill drives to the basket against Lindenwood earlier this season at Mizzou Arena in Columbia, Mo.
COLUMBIA, Mo. — Flipping a coin and it coming up heads. Rolling a die and getting an even number. Caleb Grill shooting from behind the 3-point line and making it. All three things have, more or less, a 50% chance of happening.
For the sake of accuracy, a Grill 3-pointer going in has a little bit less than a 50% chance of happening: He’s made 43 of his 89 shots from beyond the arc this season, which is a 48.3% clip.
But that’s about the only way you can minimize what Grill, the Missouri guard who leads the nation in 3-point shooting this season, is up to.
He now has a claim to the title of best shooter in men’s college hoops.
The No. 20 Tigers (16-4, 5-2 Southeastern Conference) are happy that they have a super-sub who heats up like a Weber and doesn’t put up any Big Green Eggs in the scoring column. MU coach Dennis Gates takes pleasure in the fact that his first substitution in most games means he’s bringing the Grill to the party.
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“I’m just thankful he’s representing us and we’re not playing against a kid like that,” Gates said.
Grill is in the midst of a remarkable comeback season after losing most of the 2023-24 campaign to a wrist injury. After transferring from Iowa State, the guard’s jumper had yet to settle into a groove, and then a tumble to the floor on a dunk led to wrist surgery and a rollercoaster of a recovery.
For at least a few moments, it looked like Grill might lose this season, too — he was stretchered off the court during a November game and spent the next month out of commission while wearing a neck brace on the bench.
But those injuries aren’t the defining tones of his season, which has mostly involved swishing and splashing 3-pointers.
Major stats sites now list Grill atop the Division I standings in 3-point shooting with that 48.3% mark. Some players, of course, have higher rates but far less volume than Grill. Take Mizzou center Josh Gray, for example, who’s shooting 100% from 3 because he has taken and made exactly one shot from deep.
Grill shoots 5.9 3-pointers a game, which is heavy but not outlandish volume — exactly 200 players in the nation take more. Yet there are only 50 players who make more than his 2.9 per game — it’s the efficiency that makes Grill stand out.
So in that sense, it’s establishing a requisite sample size that really determines whether Grill is the nation’s best 3-point shooter. KenPom sets the bar at playing 40% of a team’s minutes and taking two shots a game. With that generous threshold, 11 players qualify ahead of Grill as better 3-point shooters.
Construct a stricter filter for shooting — like taking 15 3s per 100 on-court possessions, and Grill is back at the top. Those who shoot as often as he does just don’t make their 3s at the same rate.
There’s an analytics argument in Grill’s favor, too. It centers around a statistic called true shooting percentage, or TS% for short.
True shooting percentage is meant to be better than basketball’s slash line of field goal percentage, 3-point percentage and free-throw percentage by folding them into one number. The formula is more complex than is worth explaining here, but it accounts for shots from the field and free throws to, in theory, determine which players are the most efficient shooters.
Grill is fourth in the country in true shooting percentage, at 72.3%. Still, you can make an argument that his sitting fourth proves he’s actually the best.
For all of its benevolent intent, TS% tends to favor big men who take high-percentage shots at the rim and make their free throws — the stat doesn’t account for the value difference between a made layup and a made 3.
Of the top 15 active NBA players in true shooting, only two are guards — the Golden State Warriors’ Steph Curry and James Harden, currently of the Los Angeles Clippers. The other 13 are forwards and centers.
In college this season, the three players ahead of Grill in true shooting are all bigs: Wichita State’s Quincy Ballard, Louisiana Tech’s Daniel Batcho and UMass Lowell’s Max Brooks. Collectively, that trio has attempted six 3-pointers this season — zero, two and four respectively.
Grill has attempted more than six 3s in a game seven times this season. For him to compete in an efficiency metric with players relying on far “easier” shots is impressive — no other player who relies on shooting more than finishing is better than Grill in true shooting percentage.
His shot-making matters a whole lot to a Missouri team on a path to a solid finish in the hypertalented SEC and a bid in the NCAA Tournament. Just look at Grill’s 8-10 outing from 3-point land against Eastern Washington or the 25 points he scored on 5-of-9 shooting over the weekend to sink Mississippi.
Gates credits Grill’s 3-point prowess to the veteran guard’s ability to move around the floor without the ball, his teammates’ ability to feed him the ball and a quick release that makes beating closeouts a routine act.
“Now, let’s take nothing away from Caleb Grill,” Gates said. “His talent is his talent. But his toughness — he has a mental toughness about him, a belief and confidence about him that resonates no matter the situation.”
And whether Grill is the best shooter in the nation or merely very close to earning that title, he’s not just a shooter for the Tigers either. Look at his 3.4 rebounds per game and 1.5 steals per game, for example.
“His game isn’t just on the offensive end,” Gates said. “He rebounds, he gets extra basketball opportunities, he throws his body around and he’s just as physical as he is from his position. … He’s a talented young man, and I’m thankful he’s in our lives.”
Mizzou basketball coach Dennis Gates speaks with the media on Wednesday, Nov. 13, 2024, about Nicholas Randall, a Mizzou recruit who previously attended Vashon. (Video by Mizzou Network, used with permission of Mizzou Athletics)
Is Mizzou’s Caleb Grill the nation’s best shooter?Caleb Grill has been on fire this season for the Missouri Tigers, showcasing his elite shooting ability game after game. With a smooth stroke and deadly accuracy from beyond the arc, Grill has quickly become a fan favorite and a nightmare for opposing defenses.
But is he the best shooter in the nation?
Many would argue that Grill’s shooting prowess is second to none, as he currently ranks among the top shooters in the country in terms of three-point percentage and overall field goal percentage. His ability to knock down shots in clutch moments and create his own shot off the dribble sets him apart from other sharpshooters in college basketball.
While there are certainly other talented shooters across the country, it’s hard to deny the impact that Caleb Grill has had on the Mizzou Tigers this season. Whether he’s draining threes from deep or pulling up for mid-range jumpers, Grill has proven time and time again that he is a force to be reckoned with.
So, is Caleb Grill the nation’s best shooter? The stats certainly make a strong case for it. But regardless of where he ranks among the nation’s top shooters, one thing is for certain – Caleb Grill is a player to watch and a threat from anywhere on the court.
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- Mizzou basketball
- Caleb Grill
- Best shooter in the nation
- NCAA basketball
- College basketball
- Three-point shooting
- Mizzou Tigers
- Caleb Grill highlights
- Shooting accuracy
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Bowl season winners and losers: Mizzou’s late 4th-down stop in Music City Bowl gives the Tigers consecutive 10-win seasons
Bowl season is in full swing as New Year’s Day approaches. With Saturday’s bowl slate the busiest of the year, we figured it was a great time to take a look at the winners and losers of the postseason so far.
Winners
Missouri: The Tigers came back for a 27-24 win over Iowa in the Music City Bowl on Monday thanks to a late fourth-down stop.
Iowa was out of timeouts and was stopped about a yard short of the first down marker on third down with just over a minute to go. The Hawkeyes rushed to the line to run a QB sneak, but LB Corey Flagg snuffed the play out and forced Brendan Sullivan to attempt to go to his left. It didn’t work.
The win puts Missouri at 10-3 for the season and gives the Tigers back-to-back 10-win seasons after going 11-2 in 2023. It’s the first time the Tigers have had consecutive seasons with double-digit wins since 2013 and 2014 when Mizzou won 23 games and went to back-to-back SEC title games.
Iowa finishes the season at 8-5.
USC: The Trojans bookended an otherwise disappointing season with wins over SEC teams in Las Vegas. USC beat LSU in Week 1 to start the season at Allegiant Stadium and ended it Friday night with a 35-31 win over Texas A&M in the Las Vegas Bowl.
QB Jayden Maiava threw three interceptions but hit Kyle Ford with eight seconds left for the game-winning score after Marcel Reed gave Texas A&M a three-point lead with 1:49 to go.
The victory means USC finishes the season at 7-6 and avoids the first losing season in Lincoln Riley’s career as a head coach. However, 7-6 is not what Riley was brought to Los Angeles for. He’s got a tall rebuilding task ahead of him with USC’s performance in 2024 and the team’s departures via the transfer portal.
Lincoln Riley and the USC Trojans ended the season on a high note, but a 7-6 record won’t appease Trojan fans. (Photo by David Becker/Getty Images) Vanderbilt: The team that was widely expected to finish last in the SEC instead ended up with a winning record. The Commodores beat Georgia Tech 35-27 in the Birmingham Bowl on Friday thanks to 21 straight points in the second half.
QB Diego Pavia threw three touchdowns as he’s set to come back for another season thanks to his victory in court. Pavia successfully sued to have another year of eligibility after playing in junior college and plans to return to Nashville along with assistant coach Jerry Kill and tight end Eli Stowers. Stowers, who played with Pavia under Kill at New Mexico State in 2023, had 49 catches for 638 yards and five TDs in 2024 and caught four passes for 55 yards and a TD in the bowl game.
Navy: The Midshipmen stopped Oklahoma on a two-point conversion with six seconds left to beat the Sooners 21-20 in the Armed Forces Bowl. The win put Navy at 10-3 and gives the Midshipmen their first 10-win season since an 11-2 campaign in 2019.
Though Army won the AAC, Navy can claim service academy bragging rights with its 31-13 victory over the Black Knights and a 34-7 win over Air Force.
Syracuse QB Kyle McCord: Who could have guessed before the season that Kyle McCord would set the ACC record for passing yards in 2024? The former Ohio State QB finished the season with 4,779 yards after throwing for 453 yards and five touchdowns in the Orange’s 52-35 Holiday Bowl win over Washington State.
McCord was 391-of-592 passing for 34 TDs and 12 interceptions this season and five of those picks came in his nightmarish game against Pitt in October. McCord will finish the season with the most completions, pass attempts and yards of any QB this season after he threw for 3,170 over 12 games in his only season as the Buckeyes’ starter in 2023.
UConn: The Huskies took down North Carolina 27-14 in the Fenway Bowl on Saturday to finish the season 9-4. It’s a remarkable season for one of the few independent teams in college football. The nine wins ties a program record and only three UConn teams have finished a season with that many victories.
The success also comes as UConn hasn’t had a winning season since 2010 when Randy Edsall was in the last season of his first stint with the team.
Losers
Colorado: The Alamo Bowl sendoff the Buffaloes wanted for Travis Hunter and Shedeur Sanders was a mere fantasy. Colorado was dominated by BYU in a 36-14 win for the Cougars in the matchup between Big 12 teams. As Sanders was harassed by BYU’s defensive line and the Colorado run game couldn’t do anything, the Buffaloes finished the game with just two rushing yards. The loss drops Colorado to 9-4 on the season while BYU finishes at 11-2.
Pitt coach Pat Narduzzi: Do you think it’s easier to score a TD from a yard away or three yards away? Narduzzi chose the latter option in his team’s 48-46 six-overtime loss to Toledo in the GameAbove Sports Bowl.
In case you need a refresher, college football’s overtime rules mean that any game that goes past two overtimes turns into a battle of dueling two-point conversions from the 3-yard line.
After Toledo kicked a 33-yard field goal to open the second overtime, Pitt got to the 1-yard line and Gavin Bartholomew was stopped for no gain on third down. Instead of going for the win from a yard out, Narduzzi had Ben Sauls kick a 19-yard field goal for the tie and a third overtime. Four overtimes later, Pitt had its sixth straight loss to end the season at 7-6.
Pittsburgh coach Pat Narduzzi opted to kick a field goal from the 1-yard line when the Panthers could’ve won their bowl game with a TD. (Mike Mulholland/Getty Images) Tennessee: Whew, it was a bad, bad night for the Volunteers on Dec. 21. Tennessee found itself quickly down 21-0 at Ohio State in its 42-17 College Football Playoff loss to the Buckeyes. The Ohio State defense overwhelmed Tennessee’s offense and the Vols’ biggest offensive threat was QB Nico Iamaleava’s legs after star RB Dylan Sampson suffered a lower-body injury.
Tennessee needs to figure out the offensive inconsistency that plagued it over the second half of the season if it wants to get back to the CFP again in 2025.
Oklahoma: The Sooners ended their first season in the SEC with the school’s second losing season in three years under Brent Venables. Oklahoma hadn’t posted a losing season since a third straight in 1998 under John Blake.
The offense was the issue in 2024 and the Sooners hope that will be fixed with the arrival of Washington State offensive coordinator Ben Arbuckle and quarterback John Mateer. The schedule is still difficult, however. OU will play at Tennessee, South Carolina and Alabama next season and still have Ole Miss, Missouri and LSU as well.
Tulane: It’s been a brutal end to the season for the Green Wave. Tulane lost the chance to host the AAC title game and potentially make the College Football Playoff with a Thanksigiving night loss at home to Memphis. Then the Green Wave got blown out at Army to lose the conference title game. After that, starting QB Darian Mensah transferred to Duke.
Then Tulane lost 33-8 to Florida in the Gasparilla Bowl. And now RB Makhi Hughes is in the transfer portal. He had 1,401 yards and 15 rushing TDs this season.
North Carolina: Bill Belichick has some work to do. The Tar Heels ended the season at 6-7 and on a three-game losing streak with their loss to UConn. Yes, UNC was without star RB Omarion Hampton, but the Tar Heels had just 206 total yards and were 0 of 9 on third down. North Carolina’s only offensive TD of the game came with less than seven minutes to go when UConn was up by 20.
Winners:
1. Missouri Tigers: The Tigers secured a thrilling victory in the Music City Bowl with a late 4th-down stop to hold off the Iowa Hawkeyes. This win not only gave Missouri their 10th win of the season, but also marked their second consecutive 10-win season under head coach Eli Drinkwitz. The future looks bright for the Tigers as they continue to build on their success.2. Liberty Flames: Liberty pulled off a stunning upset over Mississippi State in the Liberty Bowl, showcasing their talent and potential on a national stage. The win solidified Liberty as a rising program in college football and provided a major boost to their recruiting efforts.
3. Georgia Bulldogs: Georgia dominated Cincinnati in the Peach Bowl, showcasing their elite defense and potent offense. The Bulldogs proved they are among the top teams in the country and are poised for a strong run in the College Football Playoff next season.
Losers:
1. Iowa Hawkeyes: Despite a strong effort in the Music City Bowl, the Hawkeyes fell just short against Missouri in a heartbreaking loss. Iowa’s offense struggled to capitalize on key opportunities, ultimately costing them the game. The Hawkeyes will look to regroup and bounce back next season.2. Mississippi State Bulldogs: Mississippi State suffered a disappointing loss to Liberty in the Liberty Bowl, failing to live up to expectations in a game they were favored to win. The Bulldogs’ offense struggled to find a rhythm, and their defense was unable to contain Liberty’s explosive playmakers. Mississippi State will need to address their shortcomings in the offseason to avoid a similar fate next year.
Overall, bowl season provided plenty of excitement and drama for college football fans, with some teams emerging victorious while others fell short of their goals. Congratulations to the winners, and better luck next year to the losers.
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Bowl season, winners and losers, Mizzou, 4th-down stop, Music City Bowl, Tigers, consecutive 10-win seasons, college football, NCAA football, SEC football, Missouri football, football highlights, game recap
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