Missouri Tigers vs. Central Arkansas: Tipoff time, TV, projected lineups and score
Missouri opens its second basketball season under Cuonzo Martin on Election Day, with an evening matchup against Central Arkansas. MU has a lot to address without Jontay Porter. Tuesday will bring answers.
When/Where: Tuesday 7 p.m. at Mizzou Arena
TV/Radio: SEC Network; KTGR (100.5 FM)
Projected Lineups:
P | No. | Missouri | Ht. | Yr. | PPG (from 2017-18) |
G | 13 | Mark Smith | 6-4 | So. | 5.8 (at Illinois) |
G | 15 | Jordan Geist | 6-2 | Sr.. | 7.3 |
G | 0 | Torrence Watson | 6-5 | Fr. | 31.2 (HS) |
F | 24 | Kevin Puryear | 6-7 | Sr. | 8.6 |
C | 23 | Jeremiah Tilmon | 6-10 | So. | 8.2 |
P | No. | Central Arkansas | Ht. | Yr. | |
G | 55 | DeAndre Jones | 5-11 | So. | 6.1 |
G | 25 | Thatch Unruh | 6-5 | Sr. | 8.7 |
G | 4 | Khaleem Bennett | 6-4 | Fr. | 18 (Exhibition) |
F | 15 | SK Shittu | 6-9 | RFr. | 4 (Exhibition) |
C | 15 | Hayden Koval | 7-0 | So. | 8.7 |
About Missouri: Coming off last year’s season, which featured the program’s first NCAA Tournament appearance in five years, Missouri enters this one full of unknowns. Star sophomore Jontay Porter went down in the preseason with a torn ACL and MCL, and now MU has to replace the scoring, rebounding and passing the 6-foot-11 forward brought to the table. Coach Cuonzo Martin has praised sophomore Mitchell Smith, who returns after sitting out last season with a torn ACL, and is expected to lean on freshman Torrence Watson for immediate scoring. Martin has never won at least 20 games during his second season in charge of a program. A lot must be figured out before it’s determined if that streak could be in jeopardy.
About Central Arkansas: The Bears were picked eighth in the Southland Conference preseason poll after losing a lot of scoring to graduation. The team has a legit double-double threat in 7-foot sophomore Hayden Koval. There’s a few familiar faces for Missouri in this game as Bears freshman guard Khaleem Bennett crossed paths with Tigers freshman Javon Pickett at Sunrise Christian Academy in Wichita last season. Central Arkansas went 18-17 last season and beat Martin’s old squad, Cal, in a blowout. The Bears also hung with preseason Pac-12 co-favorite Oregon before losing 96-82 in Eugene. Bears coach Russ Pennell has quite the resume: He has coached in the WNBA for the Phoenix Mercury and has also been at Arizona, Grand Canyon and Mississippi.
Projected score: Missouri 75, Central Arkansas 52- The Tigers should have no problem getting their first win of the season over a Bears team that lost a lot of offense and hasn’t been known as a giant-killer. Torrence Watson scores a modest 15 points in his college debut while Blue Springs South graduate Kevin Puryear leads MU with 25 points.
This story was originally published November 5, 2018 at 2:12 PM.