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And-One: Final tune-up teaches little about the Tigers

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Normally in this space we break down three things we learned from Mizzou's most recent basketball game. Let's be honest: There was nothing to really learn from a 91-33 win over Chicago State. The Cougars entered the game ranked 351st of 353 teams by Ken Pomeroy and the only real question by halftime was "How are there two teams worse than this in Division One basketball?"

The Tigers did what they wanted when they wanted. Every available scholarship player had seen the floor by halftime other than Axel Okongo and ten of them had scored. But we are nothing if not dedicated to our craft, so here are our three thoughts after the Tigers' final non-conference scrimmage.

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Tilmon sat out the game against CSU nursing a foot injury
Tilmon sat out the game against CSU nursing a foot injury (Jessi Dodge)

Is there reason to worry about Jeremiah Tilmon?

Missouri's junior big man was noticeably hobbled in the Braggin' Rights Game with a foot injury. He also was favoring his wrist after having his shot blocked in the second half of that game. Cuonzo Martin was unconcerned at the time, saying "He'll be fine."

Nine days later, Tilmon was in street clothes and watched his teammates dismantle the Cougars. But no one seemed particularly concerned the injury is a long-term issue.

"I respect all opponents," Martin said "I just think it's one of those deals he's day to day. It's a legitimate injury."

Asked if he expected Tilmon to play against Kentucky on Saturday, Martin said, "I would imagine."

Defensive numbers get a boost

Mizzou came into the game ranked 22nd in the country in defensive efficiency and ninth in points per game allowed. Both of those numbers will get better after the woeful showing by Chicago State on Monday night.

The Cougars made just 11 of 45 shots in the game. With nearly 16 minutes to play in the game, Dru Smith had as many points (14) as Chicago State did as a team. No Cougar reached double figures.

The showing was not the worst by a Mizzou opponent by a long shot. In 2015, Arkansas Pine-Bluff scored a building-low 25 points in a game the Tigers won by 23. Back in January of 1940, Mizzou beat Iowa State 27-16. We quit looking through the scores before that because if anyone scored fewer than 16 we didn't want to know about it.

SEC season starts Saturday

Mizzou has one non-conference game left when the Tigers travel to West Virginia as part of the Big 12/SEC Challenge on January 25th. By that point, Missouri will have played six conference games.

League play opens at Kentucky on Saturday afternoon. The Wildcats are 9-3 on the season, coming off an overtime win against fourth-ranked Louisville. KenPom tabs Kentucky as No. 14 in the country and predicts a 68-60 Wildcat win.

The SEC has taken some lumps in the non-conference season. After Mizzou's win, the league has a 117-46 overall record, but everyone other than Auburn and Arkansas has lost at least three times. Kentucky, Auburn and Florida are KenPom top 25 teams with LSU and Arkansas also in the top 40. No one else Missouri faces is better than 57th right now.

"It doesn't matter where you play, who you play, everybody's good," Martin said. "It's always a great league. Stuff happens. You're making adjustments. I can say us, for example, I haven't been keying on every opponent as I will Kentucky starting tonight and tomorrow, but just from afar, you have new guys, you're transitioning guys in and out...I just think there's a lot of factors that go into a league."

To feel good about their NCAA Tournament chances, the Tigers will likely need to go at least 11-7 in league play.

Game at a glance

CAUSE FOR OPTIMISM: Torrence Watson might have found his shot. He entered the game 8-46 from three. He went 8-13 on Monday. Yes, it was Chicago State. But he had missed his share of open jumpers all season. The Tigers are going to need Watson to hit his share of shots against the better competition.

CAUSE FOR CONCERN: Coming out of this game, not a ton. But how much had to do with the opponent? Missouri isn't going to face a team that's anywhere near as willing a victim the rest of the year. The win was the fourth straight and the Tigers are playing well, but Monday in particular shouldn't give anyone a false sense of security.

STOCK UP: Three-point shooting. Again, it's Chicago State. But as Martin said "threes are threes." It's not like every one Missouri had shot was closely guarded through the first 11 games. The Tigers hit a season-high 16 from deep. Seven different players made at least one and all seven shot at least 50% from deep.

STOCK DOWN: SIU-Edwardsville. Chicago State beat SIU-E 89-81 on December 4th. In Edwardsville. The Cougars other victims this year have been Judson, Purdue Northwest and North Park.

UP NEXT: Missouri (8-4) gets opens Southeastern Conference play at Rupp Arena against No. 17 Kentucky (9-3) on Saturday. The matchup is set to tip off at 1 p.m. and will be televised on the SEC Network.

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