What to know about Mizzou men’s basketball ahead of season opener against Memphis
Mizzou men’s basketball will open its season on the road, with the black-and-gold Tigers’ first clash of the season coming against Memphis on Monday at FedExForum in Memphis, Tennessee.
MU coach Dennis Gates feels an early road game against an opponent such as Memphis can offer insights into what his squad is capable of in 2024-25.
“To be one of the teams in the country that has put their schedule together and (will be) competing at a high level against an opponent like Memphis on the road, it just gives us time to get back to the drawing board to see where we are,” Gates said.
Monday’s game marks the beginning of a clean slate for a Missouri squad that ended the 2023-24 season on a 19-game losing streak, all of which came against Southeastern Conference opponents.
Missouri has 11 new additions — five incoming freshmen and six transfers — on its 18-man roster. With such a large roster shakeup, Gates has primarily focused on fostering team chemistry between the new additions and returning players in the offseason.
“You strip everything down (to) the bare bones,” Gates said. “Whenever you have a new program, new team or new season, you have new personalities in the locker room. You want to make sure that these guys are connected in a certain way, not just physically — when they go out and perform — but emotionally and mentally. (They need to) have the endurance to stick together and do the things necessary, but also sharpen each other’s blade every day.”
Gates says he expects all 18 players to take on a leadership role at some point this season.
Memphis basketball opponent preview
Like Missouri, Memphis does not return a lot of production from this past season, with forward Nick Jourdain being the team’s lone scholarship returner for 2024-25.
Headlining the newcomers for this Memphis squad are former Texas guard Tyrese Hunter, American Athletic Conference Freshman of the Year PJ Haggerty and former Illinois forward Dain Dainja.
Hunter averaged 11 points and four assists per game last season, helping the Longhorns advance to the Round of 32 in the NCAA Tournament.
Haggerty was a top-3 recruit in the transfer portal this offseason. At Tulsa, Haggerty averaged 21 points and just over five rebounds a game on 49% shooting.
Danja has had a limited history against Mizzou. In the 2022 Braggin’ Rights game, the 6-foot-9 redshirt senior scored nine points on 4-of-4 shooting in a 93-71 loss to Missouri. His 2023 performance against the black-and-gold Tigers was less memorable, playing just three minutes in the Fighting Illini’s 97-73 win in St. Louis.
Coming into this season, there was also a major overhaul of Memphis’ coaching staff. Coach Penny Hardaway’s top assistant, Andy Borman, left the program during the summer. Then, in early September, Hardaway fired four coaches just two months before the beginning of the regular season.
Missouri basketball team captains
Gates named Tamar Bates, Caleb Grill and Jeremy Sanchez team captains last week.
Bates is coming off of a season where he nearly doubled his scoring output, ranking second on the team with an average of 13.5 points per game.
Grill had an injury-riddled 2023-2024, only appearing in nine games where he averaged eight points and six rebounds.
Sanchez is a transfer from Division-II Saint Leo, but played his first three seasons at Cleveland State under Gates.
Iowa transfer Tony Perkins was held out of the Tigers’ Oct. 26 exhibition game against Lincoln for “precautionary” reasons, according to Gates. Perkins is slated to play a crucial role for Missouri as he averaged 14 points, four rebounds and four assists per game at Iowa in the 2023-24 season.
Copyright 2024 Columbia Missourian
This story was originally published November 4, 2024 at 5:30 AM with the headline "What to know about Mizzou men’s basketball ahead of season opener against Memphis."