Mizzou enters AP Top 25 for first time under Cuonzo Martin after Braggin’ Rights win
The Missouri Tigers men’s basketball team is finally in the Top 25 after a red-hot 5-0 start that included two wins over then-ranked teams coupled with a true road victory.
Mizzou came in at No. 16 in the Associated Press poll released Monday. It’s the first time the Tigers have been ranked under MU coach Cuonzo Martin, who’s in his fourth year with the program.
MU boasts one of the best resumes in the nation despite low outside expectations coming into the season. The Tigers were predicted to finish 10th of 14 teams in the preseason SEC media poll despite being one of the oldest teams in the country and returning nearly every contributor from last year’s squad.
While MU looked poised to climb the rankings, picking up 19 voting points last week, the past two games showed it should be a competitor in the SEC. The Tigers defeated then-No. 6 Illinois 81-78 in a thriller, along with a solid home win against Liberty.
It’s the first time Mizzou has been ranked since January 2014, coach Frank Haith’s last season as MU’s top guy. Those Tigers started the season 10-0 before faltering in conference play.
While fans and some of the players relish in MU’s ranking, Martin was unphased by such things after the Illinois victory. He called the rankings “phony,” adding he was unsure why teams were evaluated like that before the end of December.
“I don’t know why you rank teams anyway until after December,” Martin said Saturday after the win. “That’s all that buddy-buddy behind the scenes stuff. I’ve never been a fan of it because I don’t cut no side deals and I don’t have those types of relationships. I don’t worry about it because I know what it is. I could care less, but I know it means something to the players.
The Tigers are one of two SEC teams to appear in the rankings, along with No. 10 Tennessee. Only two teams from the conference, Tennessee and Kentucky, appeared in the preseason poll, but the Wildcats are free-falling on a four-game losing streak.
Mizzou has only one game this week, a 7 p.m. Friday tipoff against Prairie View A&M. The Tigers have two more nonconference game before the SEC opener, when they host the Vols on Dec. 30 at Mizzou Arena. MU also still has the Big 12-SEC challenge Jan. 30 against TCU.