It’s not often, at least for the Missouri Tigers, that athletic programs experience good seasons within the same academic year. For Mizzou, it was a reality.
Before the spring turns into the fall, and just as recruiting for basketball begins to ramp up, now is as good a time as any, to review the Tigers’ 2017-18 seasons in basketball and football.
For the most part, a majority of collegiate programs experience shortcomings in one major sport and a windfall in another; this year, the Missouri Tigers had the rare experience to bask in some semblance of glory in two major sports.
Starting with the Tigers’ football season, what began as a stressful, depression-inducing 1-5 start on what was originally a promised championship season, head coach Barry Odom did some things and said some things (or he didn’t), to inspire his team to finish the season with a 7-6 record.
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You can spin the Tigers’ season on the gridiron however you see fit, but Mizzou won the games that it needed to secure its first bowl berth since former coaching great Gary Pinkel left the sidelines. Ultimately, the Tigers fell short against Texas in the (ironically named) Texas Bowl.
Through it all, Odom secured a contract extension, so it will be interesting to see how the Tigers improve under offensive coordinator Derek Dooley in 2018, after losing offensive coordinator Josh Heupel to UCF.
Basketball
First-year head coach Cuonzo Martin turned in a winning record, after Missouri went a combined 27-68 under former head coach Kim Anderson.
The Tigers’ 2017-18 season was unsurprisingly productive. While Mizzou didn’t live up to some lofty — unrealistic at the time — expectations, the Tigers played well enough to earn a berth in the NCAA Tournament.
Missouri’s biggest personnel loss came in the opening minutes of the Tigers’ first game, when highly-touted Michael Porter, Jr. suffered a mysterious injury to his back and spent the majority of the regular season rehabbing the injury.
Despite losing MPJ, the Tigers still found ways to win amid some close frustrating losses. In the end, Mizzou’s appearance in the tourney was brief, but the Tigers showed they have the potential to make a return following the 2018-19 season.
In short order, Missouri head coach Cuonzo Martin will seek new recruits to fill the roster spots of those who have left or are leaving the program.