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 mascot looks on 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) /

Expectations for Missouri this season

When it comes to the hierarchy in the SEC this season, there’s consensus that six teams (Kentucky, Tennessee, Auburn, LSU, Mississippi State, and Florida) are likely safe bets for the NCAA Tournament. At the bottom, Georgia and Ole Miss are rebuilding and shouldn’t be much of a threat.

That leaves six teams (Arkansas, Alabama, Texas A&M, Vanderbilt, South Carolina, and Missouri), who all have potential but flaws as well. Depending on how strong the SEC is as a whole, there should be another 1-3 bids up for grabs between this group. The battles between them will be decisive in when March comes.

For the Tigers, it’s clear that the strength will come through the frontcourt. Puryear is a consistent presence, while both Tilmon and Porter could easily have All-SEC caliber seasons. That may very well have to happen with all the questions surrounding the backcourt. Although talented, relying on four-star freshman Watson to provide the necessary scoring balance may be too much of a task. And whether Geist is a point guard good enough to lead a team to the Big Dance from the SEC is another issue altogether.

Next. Preseason SEC Rankings for 2018-19. dark

Missouri Basketball will be an interesting team to observe early on this upcoming season. There’s a high ceiling for them based on the potential of the sophomores but the floor is also low due to the lack of quality scoring options at the moment.

But the Tigers weren’t supposed to make the NCAA Tournament after Micheal Porter Jr. went down with an injury in the first game last season. They managed to pull it together to end the four-year drought of going dancing in 2018 and I see them at the very least be in the thick of the bubble for the 2019 campaign.

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