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Laurence Bowers is out on Wednesday

Laurence Bowers, Phil Pressey

Missouri’s Laurence Bowers, top, hugs teammate Phil Pressey, bottom, after Bowers scored on a dunk after an assist from Pressey during the second half of an NCAA college basketball game against Alcorn State Tuesday, Nov. 13, 2012, in Columbia, Mo. Missouri won the game 91-54. (AP Photo/L.G. Patterson)

AP

As expected, Laurence Bowers will be out of the lineup for Missouri on Wednesday as the Tigers take on Georgia.

Without their leading scorer on the floor, Missouri’s offense was anemic against a better-than-you-think Ole Miss team. The Tigers managed all of 49 points and 0.73 PPP -- both season-lows by a long shot -- against the Rebels, as they shot all of 2-18 from beyond the arc while Phil Pressey managed just five assists to go along with five turnovers.

Losing Bowers hurts the Tigers two ways.

For starters, he’s the team’s best perimeter shooter, and he just so happens to do so from the power forward spot. Not only does his presence create space for Pressey to penetrate, it does so while drawing one of an opponent’s biggest players out of the paint. Pressey is about 5-foot-8. He has enough trouble finishing in the lane as it is. Getting another big guy out of the way is a major bonus.

Not only is Bowers a terrific shooters, but he’s simply an all-around efficient offensive player. He can penetrate from the perimeter, he can score in the post. He’s effective in pick-and-roll situations. The Tigers tend to be too reliant on the inefficient Pressey at the point with Bowers on the floor.

Without him? Well, you see what happens.

The good news is that the injury isn’t serious. There were no ‘ifs’ in Haith’s quote in the tweet above; the only question is ‘when’.

You can find Rob on twitter @RobDauster.