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Because it’s the greatest sports week of the year (sorry, but it just doesn’t beat the first four days of the NCAA Tournament) we’re going to go a little beyond just Mizzou today. But obviously we’re going to start with Mizzou.
1) A year from today, I think I’ll be preparing to cover an NCAA Tournament game. This team really wasn’t incredibly far off this season despite all the adversity. I wrote after the last game of the regular season that the difference between Mizzou (12th in the SEC) and South Carolina (4th) wasn’t huge. This is not a league that should make it impossible to make a pretty large jump in the standings. If this team is healthy (and that’s a big if given what we’ve seen the last two years) I think it will go to the conference tournament next season in position to lock up an NCAA Tournament bid.
2) Getting a little more down to the nitty gritty, here’s what I see that team looking like:
Starting five: Dru Smith, Mark Smith, Javon Pickett, Tray Jackson, Jeremiah Tilmon. I’ve warned over and over about overhyping Dru Smith. But I’m pretty certain he starts just based on what people around the program say about him. I can’t see any way Mark Smith, Jeremiah Tilmon or Javon Pickett isn’t in the starting lineup. And I go with Tray Jackson due to the severe lack of a guy that’s shown he’s capable of keeping the potential of the freshman out of the starting five.
Bench: Xavier Pinson, Torrence Watson, Reed Nikko, Mitchell Smith, Mario McKinney, Parker Braun, TBD. I still think there’s a solid chance Parker Braun is a scholarship guy. Even three weeks ago I’d probably have thought Mitchell Smith would move on, but he seemed to find a role down the stretch and was Missouri’s third best player in the loss to Auburn. Pinson and Watson are guys that could start, but I think having them come off the bench gives your second unit a really nice scoring punch. Nikko found a role. I don’t think McKinney is a major minutes guy, but he can be an energizer bunny for a few minutes as a freshman. Missouri will add another scholarship player who could figure in the rotation too.
3) The Mizzou women will find out their fate tonight. Most think they’re going to be a five seen. ESPN’s latest bracket has the Tigers as a 5 seed traveling to Corvallis, Oregon. They would face Boise State and Oregon State. Geographic challenges aside, that seems like a pretty manageable deal for Robin Pingeton’s team in my mind. UCONN would await in the Sweet 16 and the run would very likely end there, but to me, getting to the Sweet 16 is the goal. Anything beyond that is gravy. The other teams in the 3-6 range are Syracuse, Maryland, Miami, NC State, Texas A&M, South Carolina, Gonzaga, Iowa State, Marquette, Arizona State, UCLA, Florida State, Kentucky and South Dakota State. So that’s the caliber of team Mizzou is going to be facing in round two. Langston Newsome will be at the women’s announcement tonight and will have some stories throughout the week. We’re not very likely to cover the team in person, but if the geography and timing works out right, you never know.
