Missouri Basketball: 2023-24 preview of matchup with Memphis Tigers

Missouri Basketball takes on the Memphis Tigers in the first real matchup of the season for both things. What are the keys for the Tigers of the SEC?

Missouri Basketball continues their non-conference slate when they welcome the Memphis Tigers to town on Friday, November 10. Memphis, expected to be one of the best teams in the AAC and a potential NCAA Tournament team, enters the game 1-0 on the season after taking down Jackson St. 94-77 in their opening night game. They were led by Jaykwon Walton with 19 points in a game where four other Memphis players ended up scoring in double figures.

In Missouri’s first game, a 101-79 win over UAPB, Sean East II led the team in scoring by with 21 points, followed closely by Tamar Bates and Nick Honor with 18 points each. Five Mizzou players ended up with 15 points or more in a balanced scoring attack.

On offense, Missouri will need to continue to shoot the ball efficiently to ensure a win. In their win over UAPB, Missouri shot 40 percent from three and over 56 percent from the field. These numbers are likely to fluctuate throughout the season, but if they can score at those clips Mizzou should be hard to outscore in all of their games moving forward. Memphis has a little size defensively, but nothing overwhelming so Missouri should be able to run their offense and get into their desired sets.

One thing that Missouri will need to keep in mind is that on defense Memphis does like to pressure the ball and force turnovers. Against Jackson St., Memphis ended the game with 15 steals and forced 16 turnovers. Nick Honor and Sean East II will have to take care of the ball and not give Memphis any extra possessions.

Defensively Missouri will need to tighten things up to slow down a good Memphis offense. Mizzou’s defense did look a little better against UAPB, but there were still times when players were left wide open to knock down easy shots. Memphis has multiple players capable of lighting up the box score. If Missouri is going to have any hopes of winning this game then they will need to know where all of the Memphis scorers are on the floor at all times.

Mizzou will also face their first true big man of the season in Jordan Brown who averaged over 19 points and nearly 9 rebounds per game in the Sun Belt last season for Louisiana. Without Connor Vanover, Missouri will have a rotating cast of big men trying to provide some interior defense. In their first game, Memphis was turnover-prone, coughing the ball up 16 times. Mizzou likes to apply full-court pressure after made baskets and should be able to force some turnovers. Missouri looked a little better rebounding the ball against UAPB, but Memphis should put up a bigger fight when it comes to the boards.

This game is a toss-up between two very similar and evenly matched-opponents. Both Missouri and Memphis are looking to make a return trip the the NCAA Tournament. A loss for either team in the game doesn’t take them out of contention, but a win will definitely be a resume-builder moving forward. Mizzou played well as a team in their first matchup, which is encouraging moving forward in the season with so many new parts.

If Missouri can limit the number of fouls and have another great offensive performance like they did against UAPB, then I think Missouri will walk off the court Friday night with a win.