Mizzou basketball is coming off of a victory and sits at an undefeated 2-0 record on the season. That's the good news for the Tigers.
The bad part for Mizzou? They're coming off an 89-84 victory, in which the team fought back from trailing mid-major SEMO the majority of the second half.
The Redhawks led the Tigers 51-46 at the halftime break. SEMO also didn't score for 5:06 in the first half, which begs a hypothetical question. How much could they have scored had they not gone cold?
A quick 10-0 start from the Tigers was followed by the SEMO bounce back.
"I think we jumped out early and we kind of went into a lull," senior forward Mark Mitchell said. "Got kind of soft, got kind of complacent."
Untimely fouling, open shooters in the corners and lack of success at the free throw line compounded the Tigers' struggles.
The main positive takeaway was the response. If the first half was a funeral, the Tigers certainly didn't treat the second half like a wake.
Mark Mitchell missed his first seven free throws. He made all four of his in the final minute of a closely contested contest.
Mitchell finished with a team-leading 29 points, making him the leading scorer of the evening.
Similar to how Mitchell's free-throw shooting was lackluster in the first half of last season, the second half was very effective.
SEMO's shooting fell to 32.3% from the field in the second half, and Mitchell's 19 of his 29 came in the second half as well.
Ultimately, it comes down to what type of season this team is capable of having and how this game could be taken.
Are we in the midst of another 2018 campaign that led to a 0-18 conference slate?
In retrospect, the Tigers being locked into an intense battle against a bottom-tier Minnesota Gophers squad was a red flag for that season.
However, the beauty of college basketball is change and nuance. This team undeniably has more talent than in 2023 and to automatically assume the worst isn't often realistic.
Change, positive and negative, to a team never happens overnight in college basketball. It's gradual.,
This team will get another chance on Sunday to show where they are at 3:30 p.m CT.
Buckle up and strap in for the ride.