11/1/2022 basketball Edit

Mizzou's non-conference slate at a glance

Drew King • PowerMizzou

Basketball Writer

Missouri is set to begin its new era under first-year head coach Dennis Gates next week, taking on 12 non-conference opponents before diving into SEC play.

The Tigers’ schedule can be broken down into two groups — The First Seven and The Final Five. Here’s a quick look at each team in both groups:

The First Seven

11/7 - Southern Indiana

11/11 - Penn

11/13 - Lindenwood

11/15 - SIU Edwardsville

11/20 - Mississippi Valley State

11/23 - Coastal Carolina

11/26 - Houston Christian

The strength of the Tigers’ schedule early on could be described, at best, as below average. Each of the team's first seven matchups will be played in Mizzou Arena. In 2021-22, those seven teams had a combined winning percentage of .415. Just two of the teams registered an overall record above .500 last year.

One of those teams will be Southern Indiana, which went 18-8 last season — albeit, in NCAA Division II. The Screaming Eagles will make the jump to D1 this year, joining the Ohio Valley Conference, and will be welcomed by Missouri in the season opener. Despite being new to the league, the team is still expected to be competitive, rated 256th by KenPom and voted to finish seventh out of 10 in the OVC's preseason poll. They’ll be led by fifth-year senior guard Jelani Simmons, who averaged a team-high 14.2 points per game in 2021-22 and was selected to the preseason all-conference team.

Penn may be the toughest of the early group. The Quakers rank 163rd on KenPom and were picked to win the Ivy League in the conference’s preseason poll. Penn struggled throughout its non-conference season last year, then went 9-5 in league play before getting bounced from the Ivy League tournament in the first round by Yale to finish the year at 12-16 overall. The Quakers lost just one starter in the offseason and bring 14 players back from last year’s squad, featuring junior Jordan Dingle, the nation’s 12th-highest scorer a season ago averaging 20.9 points.

Southern Indiana is one of three OVC schools Mizzou will host in its first four games. Like the Screaming Eagles, Lindenwood will make its first foray as a D1 team this year. But unlike its counterpart, the Lions are expected to go through significant growing pains, being rated as a bottom-16 team in KenPom’s preseason rankings and being picked last in the OVC preseason poll. Senior guard Kevin Caldwell Jr., who posted 14.8 points per game last season, likely poses the biggest threat.

SIU Edwardsville interestingly is ranked lower than Southern Indiana by KenPom, coming in at No. 277, but were held in higher regard in the conference preseason poll, earning the fifth spot. The Cougars had a brutal start to league play last year, going 1-10, but closed out the year going 4-3, building momentum for this season. Redshirt sophomore guard Ray’Sean Taylor and redshirt sophomore forward DeeJuan Pruitt were both selected to the preseason All-OVC team.

Mississippi Valley State may be the weakest of the group. The Delta Devils won a grand total of two games last year and aren’t expected to do much better this time around. KenPom has them rated as the fourth-worst team in the country and is predicting a 5-26 season. MVSU was also voted to finish last in the Southwestern Athletic Conference preseason poll and didn’t have any of its players voted to the preseason All-SWAC team. The program does return all five of its leading scorers from last year, though, and will look to turn things around under new head coach George Ivory.

Coastal Carolina is projected to be a middle-of-the-pack team, both nationally and in the Sun Belt. The Chanticleers were ranked 176th by KenPom and eighth out of 14 in the SBC preseason poll. CCU has improved its record each of the past two years, going 19-14 in 2021-22, but hasn’t earned an NCAA tournament berth since 2015. Essam Mostafa, a 6-foot-9, 250-pound big man who was named to the All-Sun Belt preseason team, will be the player to look out for.

Houston Christian, which was known as Houston Baptist before rebranding in September, rounds out the seven-game homestand. The Huskies didn’t fare well in either non-conference or league play and finished the year at 11-18 overall. HCU was ranked 309th by KenPom and voted to finish eighth out of 10 in the Southland preseason poll. The team will hope senior forward and 2021-22 All-Southland selection Darius Lee can guide them to a better year.

The Final Five

11/29 - at Wichita State

12/4 - Southeast Missouri State

12/10 - Kansas

12/17 - vs. UCF

12/22 - vs. Illinois

After getting a running start through the first three weeks of the season, Mizzou will see a notable step up in competition in the latter half of its slate.

The Tigers will play in their first and only true road game of the non-conference schedule against Wichita State. The Shockers have been trying to reshape the program since former head coach Gregg Marshall was ousted in 2020. Current head coach Isaac Brown has led the team to winning seasons each of the past two years, but hasn’t achieved the same postseason success that Wichita State has grown accustomed to — the Shockers haven’t reached the NCAA Round of 64 since 2018. This year’s team has just two returners, with the rest of the roster being filled out by nine transfers and four freshman. The Shockers are ranked 83rd by KenPom and was voted eighth in the AAC preseason poll.

Mizzou returns home to face Southeast Missouri State, a team that’s improved each of the last two seasons. The Redhawks rank 308th on KenPom but were picked to finish fourth in the OVC preseason poll. SEMO’s success will be determined by the growth of sophomore guard Phillip Russell, who posted 13.4 points and 3.4 assists in his first season with the team.

The Border Showdown could be the toughest game the Tigers play all year — SEC opponents included. Kansas, coming off a national title run, comes into this season ranked eighth by KenPom and second in the Big 12 preseason poll. The Jayhawks lost three starters from their championship roster, but have reason to believe they could run it back, bringing in Texas Tech transfer Kevin McCullar Jr. and a pair of five-star freshmen in Gradey Dick and M.J. Rice and returning starting point guard DaJuan Harris Jr. and All-Big 12 preseason team selection Jalen Wilson.

Though the Orange Bowl Classic game against UCF is technically a neutral matchup, it’s better described by KenPom as a “semi-away” contest for Missouri, with Sunrise, Fla., being just a three-hour drive from the Golden Knights’ campus. UCF got off to a hot start last year, going 9-2 with wins over Miami and Michigan, but went 9-9 in conference play to finish the season at 18-12 and miss out on the Big Dance for the third season in a row. The Golden Knights return just three players from last year’s rotation, but brought in six transfers, including three from high-major programs in Pittsburgh guard Ithiel Thornton, Indiana forward Michael Durr and Utah forward Lahat Thioune. The team is ranked 85th by KenPom and was picked to finish sixth in the AAC preseason poll.

Mizzou concludes its non-conference schedule with the Braggin’ Rights game in St. Louis. Illinois underwent a major roster overhaul in the offseason, losing 10 players after going 23-10 last year. Head coach Brad Underwood replenished the team with a mix of high-level recruits and transfers, adding a quartet of four star freshman, Texas Tech guard and All-Big 10 preseason team selection Terrence Shannon Jr. and Baylor forwards Dain Dainja and Matthew Mayer — the latter of whom was a key piece in the Bears’ 2021 title run. The Fighting Illini were rated No. 33 by KenPom, but could contend for the Big 10 championship, being voted second in the league’s preseason poll.

The Tigers make their first public appearance in a Thursday night exhibition game against Washington University. Gates and select players will be available to reporters on Wednesday afternoon.