Missouri Basketball: Tigers open up tournament play against Florida State
Missouri basketball plays their first game of the NCAA Tournament on Friday. What can be expected of them in their first round match-up?
Missouri is a No. 8 seed in this year’s NCAA Tournament. Playing in the West Region, the Tigers are making their 27th appearance in the tournament and their first since 2013. They are coached by Cuonzo Martin, who is in his first season with Missouri. What should you know as they approach their first game against Florida State?
How They Got Here
Missouri made the tournament as an at-large team going 20-12 on the season and finishing tied for fourth in the SEC. In the SEC tournament, the Tigers were the sixth seed, due to tiebreakers, and lost their opening game to Georgia 62-60.
Top Players
Kassius Robertson: Robertson is a graduate transfer who played his past four seasons for Canisius. For the season, he led the Tigers in scoring with 16.2 points per game and was also their best three-point shooter, making 99 threes on the season at a 42.5 percent clip. He was named to the ALL-SEC first team.
Jontay Porter: The younger Porter ended up having a big season for Missouri. Not only was he named to the ALL-SEC Freshman team, but he also led the Tigers in rebounds and blocks.
Jordan Barnett: Barnett was the team’s best free throw shooter, where he hit 72 of his 83 attempts. He also was second on the team in rebounds and points.
Biggest Question
Will Michael Porter Jr’s return be a hindrance or a help?
Porter was considered by some to be the best player in the 2017 recruiting class. Gifted with size and range, he was going to help lead Missouri to new heights. Instead, he got hurt in the first game and missed the rest of the regular season.
He returned in time for the Tigers first game of the SEC tournament, a game they lost by two to Georgia in St. Louis. Porter had 12 points and eight rebounds in his return, but the Tigers scored 13 points less than their season average.
If Porter returns to the player most expected him to be, the Tigers could go far in this tournament. However, if his return hurts team chemistry, then Missouri may be on a flight a lot earlier than they expected.
Next: Most-likely first-round upsets by seed
Missouri 75, Florida State 72. The Tigers come out shooting and as they go back and forth with the Seminoles throughout the game. Taking the final possession, Michael Porter Jr drives in and as the lane collapses, he passes it out to his brother Jontay for the game-winning triple.