After one of the most eventful offseasons in Missouri basketball history, the Tigers’ return Friday night against Iowa State, has become one of the most anticipated games in recent memory.
Basketball is back and, Colombia is ready. After all the hype and all the talk, the Tigers will finally take the court at Mizzou Arena to take on the Iowa State Cyclones in what will be the most exciting atmosphere in college basketball.
With the arrival of Michael Porter, Jr. and a myriad of other top recruits, the Tigers expect themselves to be a contender in both the SEC and country. But first, they must face off against an old Big 12 opponent in Iowa State.
Iowa State is coming off another Big 12 championship season, but has lost many valuable seniors. This will be a rebuilding year for the program which will rely on talented 5-star freshman guard Lindell Wiggington to lead the way for the Cyclones.
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The Cyclones come in as underdogs, which will certainly give them plenty of motivation for the upset. Mizzou needs to be careful; while this team is young and inexperienced, just like the Tigers, they are still talented and will not make for an easy win.
Historically, the Tigers have a good record against ISU at Mizzou Arena, at 11-5. Michael Porter, Jr. had an impressive performance against kansas, scoring 21 points, and center Jeremiah Tilmon shined with plenty of aggressive rebounds and nasty dunks.
Veterans, forward Jordan Barnett and transfer guard Kassius Robertson, also looked great. With Robertson showing off his deadly shooting range and Barnett maintaining his physicality at the rim.
While Porter struggled with his shooting percentage against Kansas, often taking contested shots, the hope is that Porter improves his decision-making, by taking smarter shots or passing to open teammates. The probability of which is good, considering exhibitions are about improving and fixing mistakes.
One thing is for sure: This will be the first exciting Mizzou basketball game in years. With the likes of Jontay and Michael Porter, Jr., Tilmon, Robertson and Barnett all playing on the same court, this will be a fun team to watch.
While the Tigers are just as inexperienced as ISU, they simply have more raw talent and should walk out with a win and what will be a good way to start a new era in Missouri basketball.