Expectations have been reset as Mizzou hoops kicks off SEC play Wednesday against Vols
Expectations for the Missouri men’s basketball team couldn’t get much lower coming into the season. A 10th-place pick in the SEC preseason poll showcased how little outsiders expected of MU coach Cuonzo Martin’s team despite the Tigers’ wealth of depth and returning players.
No. 12-ranked Mizzou has blown past those projections. The Tigers boast one of the best resumes in the nation — wins over then-ranked Oregon and Illinois, along with a true road win at Wichita State.
In fact, the 6-0 Tigers are one of just two ranked SEC teams. And they happen to take on the other — No. 7 Tennessee, the lone SEC team above them in the polls — at 8 p.m. Wednesday at Mizzou Arena in their conference opener.
“It really does feel different just coming from always being the underdog,” MU forward Jeremiah Tilmon said of entering SEC play. “People always saying we dawgs, but our record don’t say that. I feel like this is probably the first time that we can prove that we can play with anybody. No matter what anybody says about us.”
Mizzou is resetting perceptions in real-time as the wins have piled up. The Tigers are, for now, projected to earn an NCAA Tournament bid, should they keep up their stellar play.
Of course, it’s far too early to dive into bracketology. Martin said that, as of now, that 10th-place finish is still fair game because the Tigers haven’t played a conference game yet. Mizzou’s first two SEC games, versus Tennessee (6-0) and at Arkansas (8-0), should serve as a barometer against similarly talented SEC programs.
“They have all the parts,” Martin said of the Vols. “Good guard play. Really good interior play. Not only do the interior guys score, they try to defend. Try to compete. I say try because it’s easier said than done.”
There’s also the grind of the conference schedule, during which Mizzou is slated to play two games per week. That’s a stark difference from the Tigers’ non-conference slate, where six games were spread out over the course of a month. Cancellations and COVID-19 had a lot to do with that as MU played a shell of its non-pandemic schedule.
The quality of play will be a nightly challenge, too. MU guard Dru Smith said that was his main takeaway from his first time through the conference last season.
So far, an off-night against Bradley — a talented team in its own right — has been salvageable. But play haphazardly against an SEC team, and the Tigers can get run off the court.
“You’ve got to be prepared every night,” Smith said. “It’s not an easy task no matter who you’re playing. It’s two games every week — you know what you’re walking into. If you come out unprepared then you’re not going to come away with the end result that you want.”
The Tigers have shaken up how they normally play. There are still the defensive philosophies and toughness any Martin-coached team exudes, but the offense is has been a shiny surprise. MU has picked up the pace, noticeably trying to run the court for more transition opportunities.
That may serve them well when the Tigers’ shots are falling, though that hasn’t been the case yet. After shooting 29.7% on threes last season, they’re actually a tick worse this year at 28.4%. That’s partly sample size, of course, as MU has only played six games.
Martin, for his part, said he hasn’t been worried about the shooting, nor does it keep him up at night. There are still some adjustments they can make, he said, but the Tigers are still in the process of locking down their offense.
“(The underdog mindset is) the chip on our shoulder because we feel like nobody respects us,” Tilmon said. “To get respect we gotta earn it. For us to earn it, we gotta show that we can get respect. We’ve been going so hard at each other in practice, it really does turnover to the next game.”
Mizzou set itself as a potential competitor in the SEC after a strong opening six games. Teams like Tennessee, Florida, Arkansas, Alabama and LSU are likely in the mix, too. There are always a few surprises in the middle of the league, and perhaps Kentucky will rebound from its awful start.
The Tigers haven’t made it to the NCAA Tournament since Martin’s first year, the 2017-18 campaign. Mizzou also hasn’t made it past the quarterfinals of the SEC Tournament in its short history in the league. That could all change this season.
Missouri will first need to navigate a challenging 18-game conference schedule, starting Wednesday vs. the Vols.
“This is where we expected to be and what we thought we had in the locker room,” Smith said. “So I think it’s something that we have to handle. The pressure obviously comes with it, but this is what we expected and where we want to be.”
This story was originally published December 29, 2020 at 4:00 PM.