Sitting at 4-0 following the win over Minnesota, the Mizzou Tigers are back in action tonight as they host Prairie View A&M for the team’s 4th straight contest at Mizzou Arena.
Taking a look at the Panthers, a great chunk of their scoring has come from senior guard Tai’reon Joseph, who’s averaging 19.3 points per game.
Joseph is a high volume shooter, specifically from beyond the arc, shooting just under 8 threes a game. In the first 4 games, the Tigers have allowed opponents to shoot an average of 31 threes per game, one of the highest marks in the country.
The Panthers are led by head coach Bryon Smith and since taking over the program in 2015, Smith has notched 2 SWAC Coach of the Year Awards along with the Hugh Durham Award in 2021 as the most outstanding head coach across mid-major programs.
In addition to Joseph, another key player Smith can rely on is senior Cory Wells. In the young season, Wells has averaged 11.5 points and 6.8 rebounds per game.
While Wells has been good on the year, he should have his hands full tonight as he will likely be tasked with guarding either Mark Mitchell or Shawn Phillips Jr., both of which are matchups that the Tigers will likely lean on.
While the Panthers shoot the 3 ball at a poor clip of just 30.7%, the Tigers defensive rotation has proven to be an issue to start the 2025-26 campaign, and it has led to teams taking a lot of three point shots. If the Panthers were to come out with the upset, it would likely be due to a great shooting performance.
On the season, the Panthers are 0-2 versus Division I teams with losses to Wichita State and Oklahoma State. The Tigers will be an even harder test coming off a big win over Minnesota this past Wednesday.
The Tigers and Panthers tip off tonight at 7 p.m. CST with the game streaming live on ESPN+.