Coming off a rough season, Mizzou will open 2024 with a difficult test against Memphis, a team Mizzou lost to last year.
Despite its 22-10 record, Memphis missed the NCAA tournament for the first time since 2021 last season. After starting the campaign at 15-2, Memphis struggled following a season-ending knee injury to star player Caleb Mills. They managed just one win in their final eight games, dropping them in the AAC standings and ultimately costing them a tournament spot.
Like Mizzou, Memphis was active in the transfer portal strengthening its roster, particularly on defense and outside scoring. However, Memphis brought in an impressive seven transfers this offseason.
Their biggest addition being sophomore guard PJ Haggerty from Tulsa. The Texas native averaged over 20 points per game, along with 6 rebounds and 4 assists—impressive stats for a 6-foot-3 point guard. Haggerty shot just under 50% from the field and contributed defensively with 2 steals per game. He also started every game and logged the most minutes for the Golden Hurricanes last season. You can expect him to make an impact in game one against Mizzou.
Last season, Mizzou allowed an average of 76.2 points per game, ranking near the bottom among all NCAA men's basketball teams. Meanwhile, Memphis averaged 80.5 points per game, placing them in the top 25, a stat that Mizzou will have to contend with in the season opener.
Another key to Mizzou's success in this game will be its ability to score from beyond the arc, an area in which they struggled to be consistent last season.
Now in his third year, head coach Dennis Gates and the rest of the Mizzou staff did an outstanding job this offseason. They brought in a strong recruiting class, added key transfers, made important hires, and built a group that shares a sense of confidence heading into a crucial season.
One standout move was the hiring of Rob Summers to Mizzou's coaching staff. This is a key addition, as Summers brings four years of college basketball experience from Penn State and West Virginia, where he started the majority of his games and made a consistent impact. His experience and insight will be invaluable to the team, especially in developing the Tigers' frontcourt players.
Mizzou made all the right moves this offseason, putting themselves in position for a turnaround.
Now comes the challenging part: putting it all together. If they continue progressing both on and off the court, the sky’s the limit for this team. However, there’s still a lot of work to be done to get ready for the opening matchup against Memphis in just a couple of weeks.