Looking back at the 2017-18 season

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By virtually any measure, Cuonzo Martin's first season was a success. While fans started having Final Four visions dancing in their heads last spring, those were never all that realistic, even with complete health and no roster changes.

Missouri won 27 games in three years before this one. It won just eight in the Southeastern Conference. This year, those numbers were 20 and 10. The 12-win improvement is among college basketball biggest. Here are the only teams who matched that uptick:

California-Santa Barbara went from six wins to 23. North Carolina A&T went from three to 20. St. Francis (NY) went from four to 18. Northern Colorado won 11 last year and can win its 23rd in the second round of the CIT against Drake. Obviously, none of those teams plays in a major conference.

Washington has improved from nine wins to 20. It goes for 21, and a 12-game improvement, against St. Mary's in the NIT on Monday night.

In other words, no major conference team in the country improved by as many wins as Missouri and made the NCAA Tournament this year. Two still have a chance. Clemson can match the 12-game improvement by reaching the national title game. Texas Tech can match it by winning the title.

There's simply no way to slice this season as anything but an A for the Tigers. They made their first NCAA Tournament appearance in five years. They had a winning league record for the first time since their first year in the SEC. And more than any of that, they matter again. People talk about Missouri basketball. That hasn't happened in a while.

1. A 69-60 win over Kentucky on February 3rd. It was the Tigers' first win over the Wildcats in 12 tries. Mizzou held Kevin Knox to five points and generally suffocated UK. That win moved Mizzou to 15-8 and put them in position to reach the tournament.

2. A 77-67 win over Arkansas on March 3rd. On Senior Day, the Tigers closed out the regular season with their second straight win in front of a raucous crowd. It was their 20th--and ultimately last--victory of the season and iced a winning record in SEC play.

3. A 69-60 win at Alabama on January 31st. If you're looking for turning points, it's impossible not to identify this as the biggest one for the Tigers. They had lost three straight games and sat 13-8, the NCAA Tournament seemingly slipping out of range. But a big-time road win started a five-game winning streak and turned the season around. Kassius Robertson scored 22 in this one.

1. Michael Porter Jr. walks off the court after two minutes. Porter had a basket and a rebound in the opening couple of minutes against Iowa State and was then subbed out. It seemed a little early, but there was no real alarm at the time. Nobody knew what was happening. After a few minutes of Porter on the bench, curiosity was raised. When he sat on the bench with ice on his legs, alarms were sounded. He would opt for back surgery 11 days later. He came back for Missouri's final two games, scoring 28 points on 9-for-29 shooting. The effort was there, but the ability was not. The Tigers lost both games. And prevailing wisdom is that 53 minutes is all fans will see of the hometown hero in his college career.

2. Jordan Barnett's DWI arrest. Less than 48 hours before Selection Sunday, and less than a week before he should have played in the first NCAA Tournament game of his career, Barnett was arrested for driving while intoxicated in the early morning hours on Saturday, March 10th. He was suspended for the NCAA Tournament opener against Florida State. He likely would have played had the Tigers made it to Sunday. They did not. Barnett had a very good senior season. It ended with him in a hotel room watching his team lose an NCAA Tournament game by 13 points in large part because it desperately lacked a second shooting threat.

3. A 70-64 loss to Illinois on December 23rd. The Tigers turned the ball over 21 times and missed 22 of their 27 three-point attempts. The loss exposed a few problems that would rear their heads in losses throughout the season. When Missouri wasn't making shots, there just weren't a lot of other ways to win. And they had enormous trouble taking care of the ball. On top of it, this was a rivalry game and the rival was terrible. Maybe it's something about the Scottrade Center.

Honorable Mention: Terrence Phillips' removal from the team in the midst of a Title IX investigation. This one was kind of in a category of its own. On the court, it didn't really hurt the Tigers much. But it was an ugly story in a time full of them, both in college athletics and the country in general.

Most Valuable Player: Kassius Robertson was Missouri's leader. In everything. He led the Tigers in points (16.3 per game), minutes (36) and heart. He shot 43.2% from three-point range (oddly he shot just 42.2% from the floor overall) and was Missouri's most consistent offensive threat all season long. On a bad day for pretty much everyone else, Robertson scored 19 points and made 6-of-10 three-pointers in the loss to Florida State. Everyone expected the Tigers' MVP this season to be a one-and-done player. No one expected it to be a graduate transfer from Canisius.

Most Improved Player: This one is a battle between two freshmen, but the nod goes to Jontay Porter. Jeremiah Tilmon was far better than most expected, but foul problems plagued him to the end and kept him on the bench next to the coaches far too often. Porter was up and down during the season, but was Mizzou's most complete player overall. He ranked in the top three in points, rebounds, assists, steals and blocks, the only player on the team to do so. His freshman season--which was supposed to be his senior season in high school--was good enough that there is legitimate doubt whether he will return for his sophomore year.

Unsung Hero: All last summer there were whispers that Cuonzo Martin loved Jordan Geist. During the season, Martin called Geist, "a guy I'd take in the back alley with me." Geist was not Missouri's most talented player, but he filled every role Martin asked him to. He averaged 26 minutes, played in all 33 games, averaged seven points, nearly four rebounds and three assists. He improved his three-point accuracy to better than 36%. He played point guard because he was the only one on the roster who could do it for extended stretches by mid-January. Geist took plenty of heat, and some of it was deserved. But he did things no one thought he was capable of doing. And he played Missouri's final two games very sick (Georgia) and fighting injuries (Florida State). Teams need guys like Geist.

He Deserved It: Coming into the season, there were legitimate questions about how the returning players would handle the hype of the incoming class. Fans laughed it off, but it was a concern. But Martin had Kevin Puryear to help head off problems. Missouri's leading or second-leading scorer the previous two seasons saw his minutes drop. He came off the bench at times. He scored less and was no longer a focal point. But he never complained and he filled his role. The high point was a game-winning three-pointer out of the corner against Mississippi State that rescued Missouri from having blown a 12-point lead in the final 100 seconds of regulation. If Puryear doesn't make that shot, Missouri might not go dancing. Well deserved for a kid who fought through all the losing and simply kept doing his job for the school at which he always wanted to play.

What Might Have Been: If indeed Michael Porter Jr.'s career at Missouri is over (and it isn't certain, but seems quite likely), it's hard to unpack exactly what to think of it. His impact on the program cannot be denied. From March till November, Missouri basketball was the topic of conversation every day. The Tigers had a top five recruiting class and sold out of season tickets before a game was played. Those things don't happen without Porter. But Missouri fans never saw Porter really play. Not the way they (and he) knew he was capable of. He talked often of leaving a legacy at Missouri. If he goes pro after this season, it's tough to determine at this point exactly what that legacy will be.