Missouri Basketball: 2018-19 season preview for the Tigers

ST LOUIS, MO - MARCH 08: Jontay Porter #11 of the Missouri Tigers dribbles the ball against the Georgia Bulldogs during the second round of the 2018 SEC Basketball Tournament at Scottrade Center on March 8, 2018 in St Louis, Missouri. (Photo by Andy Lyons/Getty Images) /

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NASHVILLE, TN – MARCH 16: The Missouri Tigers bench reacts against the Florida State Seminoles during the game in the first round of the 2018 NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament at Bridgestone Arena on March 16, 2018 in Nashville, Tennessee. (Photo by Frederick Breedon/Getty Images) /

Non-conference and SEC schedule

Nov. 6 (H) – Central Arkansas

Nov. 9 (A) – Iowa State

Nov. 16-18 (N) – Paradise Jam Tournament (Opponents include Kennesaw State, Oregon State or Old Dominion, and either Kansas State, Eastern Kentucky, Northern Iowa or Penn)

Nov. 27 (H) – Temple

Dec. 2 (H) – Central Florida

Dec. 4 (H) – UT-Arlington

Dec. 7 (H) – Oral Roberts

Dec. 18 (H) – Xavier

Dec. 22 (N) – Illinois

Dec. 29 (H) – Morehead State

There aren’t any juggernauts or even sure bets on this list to make the NCAA Tournament but there are still plenty of opportunities for the Tigers to get some tier-2 or even tier-1 wins. Based on who’s returning this season, both Iowa State and UCF should be much improved and will contend for a bid. Xavier also will be a good team, thanks to the grad transfers they brought in.

When it comes to the Paradise Jam, the perfect scenario for Missouri would be to face Kansas State in the Finals. The Wildcats return all of their key pieces from a team who just went to the Elite Eight and will be ranked in the preseason top-20. They also may be the only acceptable loss out of the other seven, so navigating that non-conference tournament will be key to their tourney hopes.

SEC Schedule

Teams Missouri faces twice: Arkansas, Ole Miss, South Carolina, Tennessee, and Texas A&M

One reason why fans shouldn’t worry about a somewhat soft non-conference schedule is that the SEC will once again be loaded. There could be as many as 10 teams from the league going dancing, so many quality wins will be available.

But you don’t want to gather too many losses in conference play, which is why the unbalanced SEC schedule works well for the Tigers this time around. Outside of the Vols (preseason top-10 team), there other four that Missouri faces twice are very beatable. Both Texas A&M and Arkansas lost plenty of production, while South Carolina and Ole Miss are still rebuilding their rosters.

If Missouri handles their business against the lower half of the SEC while getting either Kentucky or LSU at home, they’ll be in solid shape in case they’re on the bubble.

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