Wagner @ Missouri preview
Mizzou Arena
Even with the nation’s top recruit spending most of the night on the bench, Missouri’s revival was something to see. The resurgent Tigers will try to put on another show for the home crowd when they face Wagner on Monday.
Michael Porter Jr. was limited to two minutes of playing time due to a nagging hip injury in Missouri’s 74-59 win over Iowa State on Friday, but it didn’t slow down the team. Fellow freshman Jeremiah Tilmon collected 14 points and seven rebounds, Kevin Puryear recorded 17 and eight off the bench and senior Jordan Barnett added 15 points as Missouri displayed its depth. Wagner is looking for a 2-0 start following a 60-49 win at NJIT on Saturday in which Blake Francis scored 22 points. The Seahawks are no strangers to upsetting big-time programs as they shocked then-No. 16 Connecticut last season.
TV: 9 p.m. ET, ESPN2
ABOUT WAGNER (1-0): The Seahawks were picked to finish third in the Northeast Conference in the preseason despite the graduation of leading scorer Michael Carey. Francis and JoJo Cooper headline a solid backcourt, but the Seahawks lost a lot of frontcourt production to graduation. Wagner brought in Eastern Michigan graduate transfer Nick Madray to bolster the bigs, but they will have their hands full with Missouri’s talented frontcourt.
ABOUT MISSOURI (1-0): The Tigers showed they have much more than one star player with their performance against the Cyclones, and they might have to prove it again on Monday. Puryear and Barnett appear poised to elevate their game now that they are surrounded by more talent, and graduate transfer Kassius Robertson had a nice debut with 11 points. The Tigers figure to have a huge advantage inside against most opponents, with five players listed at 6-10 or taller.
TIP-INS
1. Missouri averaged 92.7 points in three previous games against Northeast Conference opponents, most recently an 87-36 rout of Fairleigh Dickinson in 2009.
2. The Tigers’ wire-to-wire win against Iowa State was their first since last season’s opener against Alabama A&M.
3. The Seahawks have not started 2-0 since 2005.
PREDICTION: Missouri 91, Wagner 67