Kim Mulkey previews the Tigers SEC opener against Missouri on Thursday night.
- Doesn't think Missouri is much different from last season. Hayley Frank is their leading scorer and shoots nearly 39% from three.
- Their offense is predicated around shooting the three ball which can make them very hard to defend. Thinks their bigs are going to have to defend the three ball really well. Is worried about Del Rosario because of her size, but she's very confident in Aneesah and Angel at defending the three.
- If she'd have everyone together the whole time (no injuries or players away from the team), she'd feel very good about where she is with her team, but they've dealt with a lot of things and thinks they're still improving.
- Says Angel is passing up a lot of shots. Says she's all about winning first, not just about double-doubles.
- Says a lot of her girls are getting back into the flow after Christmas break, so she's going to have to be careful with her subsitutions.
- They lead the NCAA in free throw attempts. They need to shoot it better, but she's happy with the way they're getting to the line.
- Says Haley felt good after her first game back from a foot injury. She's good to go from here on out.
- She's impressed with how this team keeps winning despite the injuries and off the court issues. Said the Virginia game was one that was set up for them to lose, but they fought hard and won.
- Says they need to be more polished on the defensive side of the floor. She won't get excited about what this team could be until they start playing better defense.
- Thinks the SEC is the best conference in WBB despite only having two teams ranked. Says rankings aren't all they're made up to be. They're based on opinions.
- Thinks it's hard to judge how far this team has come because of not having all their pieces out on the court. The teams been doing what they need to do to win these non-conference games, but they're flushing those and they're starting fresh in SEC play.
- Says Aneesah makes them better defensively because she's so active with her feet and hands. Loves her game and she can trust her to not pick up fouls on the perimeter.
- Mikaylah is going to see how she'll be guarded differently than in non-conference. She's got to know that they will know everything about her, and it'll be interesting to see how she handles that. This is that next level up for her, but she's confident in her abilities.
- If you look at the team right now, they have seven players they're really going to go to. She's trying to find that eighth player. Says the rest of the pack haven't separated themselves from the others enough to know, so it will be all situational.
