On Monday night, the Missouri Tigers will be seeking their first winning streak in over 300 days when Eastern Washington travels to Columbia for a non-conference matchup that is sure to feature a lot of scoring.
After defeating the Howard Bison 77-62 on Friday, the Tigers will look to garner some momentum against the Eagles.
Eastern Washington might not be the most attractive matchup on paper, but there is still a lot to learn about a new-look Mizzou basketball team in 2024. Here are three things to look for when watching the game.
1. Three-point shooting
Despite its win on Friday night, Mizzou shot a poor 3-for-22 on three-pointers. This struggle from beyond the arc, with just 13% against Howard, left many concerned. Mizzou will look to improve this on Monday against Eastern Washington, as making more than three shots from behind the arc per game will be crucial to remaining competitive in the SEC. Tamar Bates made all three of those shots on Friday, so it will be telling to see if the Tigers can find perimeter offense from someone other than the Indiana transfer.
2. Rotation
In Mizzou's two games thus far, the Tigers have played 11 players more than nine minutes per game. It would be surprising to see them continue going this deep as the season progresses. As the non-conference schedule unfolds, it will be interesting to see how Dennis Gates manages the rotation. Mizzou is incredibly deep, with many players capable of making contributions, so it will be intriguing to see how everyone fits into Gates' system. Of the 11 players in the rotation, six were not at Mizzou last season, making it especially interesting to monitor their production in a new system.
3. Rebounding
After games against Memphis and Howard, Mizzou has struggled with its rebounding, a concerningly similar issue to last season. The Tigers are currently being out-rebounded by 0.5 boards per game. Duke transfer Mark Mitchell is leading the team with an average of 7.5 rebounds per game, while South Carolina transfer Josh Gray is averaging 6 boards per game. It will be interesting to see how the rebounding battle plays out against Eastern Washington on Monday, in a game where the Tigers should dominate that category. It ultimately comes down to effort, and this matchup with the Eagles should be telling.