Mizzou basketball returns to action Monday seeking 11th win before SEC play begins

The Missouri Tigers men’s basketball team plays host to Alabama State on Monday in its final nonconference game before Southeastern Conference play begins.

Heavily favored Mizzou (10-2) is looking to respond to its second loss of the season. The Tigers have had eight days to simmer over their 80-77 Braggin’ Rights defeat against Illinois in St. Louis.

Mizzou has not lost this season at Mizzou Arena — the Tigers’ only other was in their season opener against Memphis. In their last game at Mizzou Arena the Tigers beat Jacksonville State 83-72 on Dec. 17.

Alabama State enters Columbia with a 4-8 record. The Hornets have taken on one SEC opponent already, falling 74-61 to LSU on Nov. 10 in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.

C.J. Hines and Amarr Knox pace the Hornets. Hines enters the matchup averaging 15.8 points and 2.9 assists per game.

The senior from Atlanta was selected to the preseason All-SWAC second team. As a junior, he averaged 9.8 points, 2.8 assists and 2.8 rebounds per game.

In Alabama State’s 83-80 loss at Delaware State, Hines had a season-high 25 points on 10-for-18 shooting from the field.

Knox, meanwhile, is a redshirt sophomore from Memphis who is averaging 15.6 points, 2.7 assists and 1.8 steals. He had 21 points on 8-for-15 shooting against Delaware State.

The Memphis native is experiencing a leap after averaging just 4.1 points during a 13-game medical-redshirt season in 2022-23, and 6.9 per game last season.

Tony Madlock coaches the Hornets. He has a 25-50 record at Alabama State.

This is Madlock’s second coaching stop. He spent the 2021-22 season at South Carolina State. He also was 1-4 as the interim coach at Ole Miss during the 2017-18 season.

Before working at South Carolina State, Madlock spent three seasons as an assistant coach on coach Penny Hardaway’s staff at Memphis, where he played from 1988-92.

If Missouri can defeat Alabama State, it will be the second time in the last 10 seasons that MU has won at least 11 nonconference games.

The only other time the Tigers achieved that feat was in coach Dennis Gates’ first season with Missouri, when the Tigers went 11-1.

The Missouri-Alabama State game is scheduled to tip off at 6:30 p.m. Monday at Mizzou Arena. The game will stream live on ESPN+ and SEC Network+.

Mizzou’s SEC opener at Auburn awaits after that, on Saturday, Jan. 4.

Copyright 2024 Columbia Missourian

This story was originally published December 29, 2024 at 12:07 PM.