“Unforgettable Moments Await: How Games 11-13 Are Shaping the Season’s Destiny!”
As the Missouri Tigers gear up for the critical juncture of their season, fans are keenly observing how the squad shapes up after the first 10 games. With an impressive 8-2 record thus far, the Tigers have faced off against familiar foes like Memphis, California, and Kansas, setting the stage for an exciting stretch ahead. Now, as we transition from a five-game analysis to a more focused look at games 11 through 13, there’s a palpable buzz in the air. With three non-conference matchups left before the conference schedule kicks in, let’s dive into what these upcoming games could mean for Missouri’s trajectory in the season—starting with their encounter against Jacksonville State, followed by the much-anticipated Braggin’ Rights clash against Illinois, and wrapping up the year with a matchup against Alabama State. Buckle up! This ride is about to get thrilling. LEARN MORE
The Tigers did a pretty good job setting themselves up to get a double-digit number in the win column before conference play begins.
So I’m going to give this one to Mizzou and say Tiger fans get a Merry Christmas break.So let’s take a look at games 11-through-13.Ty Rodgers, last year’s fifth-leading scorer, is the highest-scoring returner on a roster that lost 11 players from last year’s team.
Game 11: Hosting Jacksonville State. Tuesday, Dec. 17, 6:30 p.m.
Wow, I picked them to go undefeated in this stretch. Which would mean the Tigers are headed into conference play with an 11-4 record and already have more wins than last season’s total.As always, Braggin’ Rights will be a tough matchup for the Tigers, but I do like the roster construction a bit better and both the freshman class and transfer class of incoming help will be better for Missouri.The Hornets played a good amount of power-conference opponents last season, matching up with Ole Miss, Iowa, LSU, USC and Auburn. Add in that they played Memphis and that’s a pretty tough nonconference schedule.The Illini also added junior Tre White (6-7, 205 pounds), a four-star small forward ranked No. 198 in our system this year. White scored 12.3 points a game last year for Louisville and brought down 5.9 rebounds per game.Jacksonville State played West Virginia (70-57 loss) and Wisconsin (75-60 loss) for their two power-conference opponents last season.Hey look, another opponent coming in lower than No. 200 in the KenPom rankings.There’s a reason this is the matchup for the day before New Years Eve when the stadium will most likely be empty and there might be about two other journalists at the game with me. Very easy Tiger win.Eighth-year coach Brad Underwood rebuilt the roster with five transfers and four freshmen.The Gamecocks lost their top three scorers from last season in Kyky Tandy, Juwan Perdue and Quincy Clark, but they do return regular starters in senior forward Marcellus Brigham Jr. (6-foot, 7-inches, 210 pounds) and redshirt junior center Mason Nicholson (6-10, 280 pounds).After a 10-point loss to Ole Miss, they lost the rest of those games by at least 17.
Game 12: Braggin’ Rights vs. Illinois in St. Louis. Sunday, Dec. 22, noon
In the freshman class, Illinois brought in five-star forward Will Riley from Pennsylvania and four-star forward Morez Johnson from Chicago.The Illini also lost almost the rest of last year’s starting five in second-leading scorer Marcus Domask, third-leading scorer Coleman Hawkins and fourth-leading scorer Quincy Guerrier.Season glance: Games 11-13Jacksonville State was predicted to finish eighth out of 10 teams in CUSA’s preseason coaches poll.Illinois won big in last year’s Braggin’ Rights game on the back of Terrance Shannon Jr., who is now on the Minnesota Timberwolves preseason roster.Should be an easy win for Missouri.Jacksonville State enters the season at No. 221, which credit where it’s due is much higher than the three cupcakes in the last group of games which were all ranked past 300. So we’re getting a bit tougher competition here.Through the first 10 games, I have the Tigers at 8-2 with the only real opponents they play by this point being Memphis, California and Kansas.Alabama State comes in ranked No. 282 after going 13-19 overall and 8-10 in Southwest Athletic Conference play.Head on over to the Tiger Walk to discuss the coming season and so much more.Illinois enters the season as the No. 23 team in the KenPom rankings after going 29-9 last season and finishing the year with a loss in Elite Eight.Another weird noon start time on a Sunday for a rivalry game. I don’t really understand these scheduling decisions.
Game 13: Hosting Alabama State. Monday, Dec. 30, 6:30 p.m.
Junior Kylan Boswell (6-2, 200), the No. 74-ranked transfer recruit in Rivals’ class ranking this year, comes in as a four-star point guard coming from Arizona. Boswell scored 9.6 points per game for Arizona last year, starting in 35-of-36 games played.And we’re back to the bottom of the KenPom rankings.Illinois also brought in Carey Booth, a 6-10 four-star transfer sophomore power forward from Notre Dame, Ben Humrichoun, a 6-9 fifth-year power forward from Evansville and Jake Davis a 6-6 sophomore power forward from Mercer.I’ve been going five games at a time through the first two versions of this story, but I’ve been planning on cutting that to three once the conference schedule begins and there’s only three non-conference games left, so I guess we’re going to start shortening it up here instead.Leading scorer D’Ante Bass, a 6-6, 205-pound junior forward, is back after averaging 16.0 points and 8.0 rebounds per game last season. Senior TJ Madlock, a 6-3, 190-pound guard, is also back after averaging 15.8 points and 4.9 rebounds and 2.25 assists per game.Brigham Jr. averaged 7.7 points and 4.5 rebounds per game, while Nicholson scored 6.5 points and brought down 5.4 rebounds per game.The Hornets also return senior CJ Hines, a 6-2, 185-pound guard, so they will only have to replace two starters this season.
Conclusion:
The Gamecocks also get guard redshirt senior Jason Pierre Jr. (6-5, 188 pounds) who sat out last season as a redshirt year after playing one year for Wichita State and two years for Southern Mississippi. In his year at Wichita State, Pierre Jr. averaged 10.6 points, 3.0 rebounds and 1.2 assists per game.
The Gamecocks went 14-18 overall and 6-10 in Conference USA play last season, ending the season on a four-game losing streak and dropping eight of their last 11.
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