Mizzou basketball is back on the floor, with both the women’s and men’s teams officially opening practice this week.
The women got things started on Tuesday, with the team account on X noting the first day of practice. Their season is now 37 days away from tipping off with an exhibition against Lincoln University, before the regular season begins Nov. 2 against Howard.
The men were right there with them on Day 1 as well. Mizzou will tune up with a pair of exhibition games on Oct. 23 and 29 at Kansas State and UNLV, then open the regular season Nov. 3 against Cleveland State.
There was also a fresh note from Mizzou women’s golf, which caught a break when the heat finally let up and two Tigers were granted temporary eligibility for their last home tournament. Mizzou took full advantage, winning the event with four golfers finishing in the top five. Senior Addie Dobson capped it off by picking up the first victory of her career.
On the basketball side, the focus is already shifting to the kind of games that can make a season feel messy before it feels good. That was the conversation around Mizzou’s win over Troy, a game that was hard to enjoy and even harder to watch back, but still ended in the one thing that matters.
“So, no, I didn’t enjoy the Troy game. Have not enjoyed rewatching it while putting this piece together.
But in the college realm a clunker of a game from your favorite team is always a potential outcome. And if you win your clunkers then I’m fine with it.”
That’s the tradeoff. The game was sloppy, but it still went in the win column.
The same idea carries into the upcoming matchup with Alcorn State, a team that was deep when healthy last season in a way that drew comparison to a Leonard Hamilton squad. Alcorn State had 10 players average more than 10 minutes per game, though only five appeared in all 32 contests.
This year’s group looks much thinner. Only two of those players are back, Mike Jones and William Henderson, and the pair combined to play in 24 games, log 304 minutes and score 74 points.
After a rough year, Alcorn State appears to be a favorable draw for Mizzou.
Still, the bigger point is what happens when a team survives a game like Troy and keeps moving. As Josh put it, “It does a team good to go through some constructive adversity in a winning season, and I think there’s space for the Troy game to fall into that sort of role.”
In Other News...
Missouri Faces Its First Real SEC Test In Starkville
Mississippi States 3-0 start has turned a tricky road game into an early-season barometer for Missouri, which heads to Starkville for its SEC opener with both teams still unbeaten. The Bulldogs earned their place in the AP Top 25 after rallying at South Carolina, and now they get their first conference game at home under Jeff Lebby, where the atmosphere should match the stakes.
For Eliah Drinkwitz, it is the kind of September test that reveals more than a box score ever could. Missouri has navigated the nonconference schedule cleanly, but this trip will ask whether the Tigers can handle a ranked opponent that is playing with real confidence, and whether their own start holds up once SEC pressure starts to build. [Read more 🡒]
Mizzou Faces An SEC Test Built To Rattle Them Early
Missouris SEC opener sends it straight into one of the leagues more unusual road atmospheres, with No. 24 Mississippi State offering the kind of early test that can expose a team before conference play even settles in. The Tigers have spent practice trying to recreate the sound they expect to hear, working through a setting designed to be loud, distracting and as different from home as it gets. For Missouri, the first challenge is simply getting comfortable before the football even starts.
From there, the focus shifts to Kamario Taylor, who gives Mississippi State a dual-threat problem Missouri has to account for on every snap. The Tigers know their defense will need to manage both his playmaking and the Bulldogs receivers while staying composed in a setting built to rattle visiting teams. It is the sort of opener that can tell a lot about a defense early, and Missouri is treating it like a test of poise as much as execution. [Read more 🡒]
Missouris SEC Opener May Hinge On One Crucial Tigers Unit
Missouri heads into its first SEC game of the season with a 3-0 start in hand, but the focus this week has quickly turned to the line play that can shape everything else. Offensive tackle and team captain Cayden Green said the Tigers have made real progress up front, and that growth has come from more practice reps and extra film work together as the group continues to settle in before a matchup with Mississippi State.
The challenge gets sharper against a Bulldogs defensive front that can test protection and make every clean snap feel earned. Green also pointed to penalties as an area Missouri has to clean up, since those mistakes can undercut drives and put more strain on an offensive line already facing its first SEC test of the year. [Read more 🡒]