Missouri Tigers Tickets

Missouri Tigers Mens Basketball

Big things were expected out of last year's Missouri Tigers, who were ranked as high as the Top 5 before collapsing. Predicted by many as a team that could reach the Final Four, the Tigers instead went out in the first round of the NIT. It appeared as though the NCAA investigation of the Mizzou program that dominated the headlines took a toll on the team as a whole.

With the loss of seniors Arthur Johnson, Rickey Paulding and Travon Bryant, the Tigers are a tough team to predict. On one hand, Missouri lost a majority of its scoring, but on the other, they could certainly out-perform the team from last year. The Tigers will return several familiar faces, but overall, the team will have a new look fitting of its new stadium, Mizzou Sports Arena. The offense will center around 6-foot-8-inch power forward Linas Kleiza, who got off to a tremendous start in his freshman year before a shoulder injury sidelined him for the rest of the season. Jimmy McKinney, Jason Conley and Thomas Gardner can each give the Tigers scoring from the guard/forward position. While any of the three cannot yet be counted upon to carry a team game in and game out, they have shown the capability to take over individual games. The biggest question mark will be at the point guard position, which has been problematic for years. Jason Horton has plenty of promise, b! ut he will likely go through growing pains, since he is a freshman.

Expectations are certainly lower for this year's Mizzou Tigers, but given the amount of negative press the program has had to cope with, that may not be a bad team. The Tigers are certainly capable of an upset or two, and quite possibly an NCAA Tournament berth as well.