Mizzou Tigers’ Cuonzo Martin reaches milestone victory: ‘I didn’t know that,’ he said
Missouri’s men’s basketball victory at South Carolina on Saturday gave Cuonzo Martin his 250th career win. How did Martin and the program honor the milestone?
They didn’t. In fact, Martin had to be reminded by staff members after game.
“It’s weird, we talk every day, all day, and that never came up,” assistant coach Marco Harris said. “After the game I turned and congratulated him and he’s like, ‘I didn’t know that.’”
The quest for the next milestone begins Tuesday when Ole Miss visits Columbia.
The Tigers’ previous victory was meaningful in other ways. They ended a three-game losing streak, and welcomed back Jeremiah Tilmon, who had missed the previous two games for personal reasons.
But Harris was happy for his boss and friend. They’ve been friends since their days growing up in East St. Louis, Illinois. Harris worked on Martin’s staffs at California and Tennessee before joining him at Mizzou.
“I’m extremely excited and happy for him, proud of him,” Harris said. “For me, it’s more than just being here as an assistant coach. I’ve been knowing him like a little brother. He’ll say he’s the big brother, but I’ll set the record straight. I’m the big brother. So it’s like your little brother achieving something.
“I’m extremely proud of him.”
With several games remaining in his 13th season, Martin has averaged 19.2 victories per year. He went 61-41 in three years at Missouri State, 63-41 in three years at Tennessee, 62-39 in three seasons at California and is 64-52 in his four years in Columbia.
His teams had nine consecutive winning records until his second Missouri squad went 15-17, and he followed that with a 15-16 mark. Expectations soared for Martin’s first Missouri team with the addition of Michael Porter Jr. But an injury that kept the future first-round draft pick out for all but three games put a damper on the season.
Those Tigers remain Martin’s only NCAA Tournament team, but this one is well on its way to the bracket. The Tigers are averaging a No. 6 seed in most bracket projections. Entering Monday’s games, only five programs have more than Missouri’s six Quadrant 1 victories in the NET rankings, a took used by the selection committee to determine NCAA Tournament credentials.
Also, Missouri remained in The Associated Press poll at No. 24. It’s the Tigers’ 11th straight week in the rankings. Before this season, the program hadn’t been seen in the Top 25 since 2014.