Mizzou Tigers Basketball

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Mizzou Tigers Basketball

Nathan Smith

     After a disappointing loss in the first round of the March Madness tournament last year, Missouri kicks off their season in the SEC after moving from the Big 12. Missouri ended last season with a 35-4 record. In preseason rankings, the Tigers were ranked 15th overall and picked very high in their conference. Missouri lost a few seniors, but they will have senior, Laurence Bowers returning from a knee injury that kept him out all season last year. Also, Phil Pressey is the only returning player from last season’s starters, and he will be returning to the point guard position for the Tigers after a great season last year. Mizzou has Alex Oriakhi, who transferred from the University of Connecticut, and some other players that were redshirted last year.

     This year, Missouri starts off with nine straight home games that will hopefully let them get off to a great start just like last season. Their first game of the year was against Southern Illinois University-Edwardsville; Missouri won this game pretty easily with a final score of 83-69. The leading scorer was Bowers with 20 points, and Oriakhi led the team in rebounds with 15. Pressey was second in scoring with 19 and he also had 9 assists to go along with the points.

     Their second game of the season was against Alcorn State, which was supposed to be an easy win for the Tigers. After a surprising run in the first half, the Braves made the game close against the Tigers. Mizzou only had a seven point lead at halftime and the score was 30-23. Even though the Braves had a great first half, Missouri’s offense was just too much for them. The Tigers outscored Alcorn State 61-31 in the second half to win the game with a final score of 91-54. Pressey was the leading scorer with 21, and the Tigers started their season off 2-0.

     In weeks to come, Missouri plays Nicholls State, Stanford, Appalachian State, Southeast Missouri State, Tennessee State, and South Carolina State. Illinois is a neutral game that will be played in St. Louis at the Edward Jones Dome all before they have to travel. Then, they travel to UCLA to face the Bruins, who will be their first ranked opponent.