Jeremiah Tilmon came to Missouri this summer as an enigma.
Despite holding offers from nearly every blue-blood program as a consensus top-50 national recruit, nobody really knew what to expect from him. At times, Tilmon was dominant — both on the AAU circuit and and at East St. Louis High — but there also times when he completely disappeared during games. That’s difficult to do as a 6-foot-10, 235-pound center.
But the hope around Columbia was that if anyone could get the necessary effort out of Tilmon to make him a consistent force to be reckoned with, it would be Cuonzo Martin.
Friday night, Tilmon showcased his abilities as a defensive presence, but it was his offensive performance that most impressed Martin. Tilmon had his way with an undersized Iowa State front line in the paint, and unlike most freshmen his size, Tilmon didn’t struggle with turnovers or foul trouble because of poor footwork.
“You’ve got to give credit to his high school guys; they did a great job with him,” Martin said. “Because his footwork, that’s all him. Either he was born with it or they taught him something. … Most guys at that age, when they’re trying to move they get charges. He doesn’t get those. When he gets around the rim, he’s so strong.”
Tilmon finished an extremely efficient 7 of 9 from the floor, throwing down a handful of dunks but also showing off a nimble drop-step and a deft left-handed jump hook that Iowa State simply couldn’t guard.
His performance surely raised his own — and everyone else’s — expectations for what he can do this year.
“I didn’t know what to expect because that was my first game. Honestly, the second game will tell me how the first game should of went," Tilmon said. "I feel like I can play like that (every night).”
GAME AT A GLANCE
TURNING POINT: Quite honestly, tipoff. There was a buzz in Mizzou Arena that hasn’t been felt since the Tigers’ last sellout on March 5, 2013, and this team fed off of it early and often. Mizzou led from start to finish, and for most of the game, Iowa State really wasn’t that close. Despite Michael Porter Jr. going out of the game with 18:20 remaining in the first half, the Tigers dominated on both ends of the floor, outrebounding the Cyclones 38-27 and holding them to 39 percent shooting. Mizzou’s bench, led by newly-minted sixth man Kevin Puryear, outscored Iowa State’s reserves 32-17.
IT WAS OVER WHEN: Jordan Geist and Kassius Robertson hit back-to-back threes with 12 1/2 minutes to go in the second half, extending Mizzou’s lead to 18 and shutting down any hopes Iowa State had of making a comeback. The Cyclones cut the deficit to single digits early in the second half, but Mizzou’s timely 3-point shooting proved too much for them to overcome.
CAUSE FOR OPTIMISM: Everything but Michael Porter Jr.’s lower extremity injury. Porter played a whopping one minutes and 40 seconds before taking a seat at the end of the bench for the remainder of the game, yet Mizzou didn’t seem to miss a beat with him out. Tilmon showed the potential coaches and players have been raving about for the last month, and Kevin Puryear, Jordan Barnett and Robertson picked up the scoring slack, combining for 43 of Mizzou’s 74 points. The Tigers showcased their depth as well, with nine players logging at least eight minutes, and a defense that ranked 118th nationally last year in field goal percentage defense held Iowa State to just 31 percent shooting in the first half as it built 14-point halftime lead.
CAUSE FOR CONCERN: Michael Porter Jr.’s lower extremity injury. Porter told Cuonzo Martin before the game that his legs were bothering him, but it was too late at that point to take Porter out of the starting lineup because he’d already been written into the official scorebook. Martin said he hadn’t talked to the training staff yet about Porter’s injury and didn’t offer anything more than that they would take a look at it after the game.
STOCK UP: Jeremiah Tilmon. One of the biggest question marks for Mizzou heading into this season was what kind of impact Tilmon could have on both ends of the floor, especially with little-to-no depth behind him at center. At least for tonight, Tilmon answered those questions with a resounding yes. In 25 minutes of action, he shot 7 of 9 from the floor, scored 14 points, grabbed seven rebounds and only picked up three fouls. This game was never really close enough that Mizzou had to worry about sitting him down due to foul trouble, but barring any sort of serious regression, fouls might be the only thing that keeps Tilmon from averaging a double-double this year.
STOCK DOWN: Iowa State. The Cyclones were expected to struggle this year — picked ninth in the 10-team Big 12 — but the loss of seniors Monte Morris, Naz Mitrou-Long, Deonte Burton and Matt Thomas left a hole head coach Steve Prohm just couldn’t fill. ISU traveled just eight scholarships players to Columbia because Princeton transfer Hans Brase has yet to return from a torn ACL and redshirt freshman Cameron Lard did not accompany the team for an unknown reason. The Cyclones have been among the class of the Big 12 in recent years, making six straight NCAA Tournament appearances and getting to the Sweet 16 twice in that time, and barring a miracle turnaround or a run through the Big 12 Tournament in March, that streak will end this season.
UP NEXT: Mizzou returns to the floor Monday night at 8 p.m. when Wagner comes to town. The Seahawks, who finished third in the Northeast Conference a year ago, were picked to finish in the exact same spot in the preseason media poll, behind St. Francis and Fairleigh Dickinson.
