Missouri Basketball: 2024-25 season preview for the Tigers

Schedule Breakdown

Missouri has a pretty light non-conference slate to start the year. The Tigers open the season with a trip to Memphis before 10 straight games at home. Over that time the Tigers will only take on two opponents from power conferences. First is California for the SEC-ACC Challenge, then five days later Mizzou welcomes rival Kansas to town. After those games, the only other power conference opponent on the non-con schedule is Illinois towards the end of December for the annual Braggin’ Rights game in St Louis, the second game of the early season away from the friendly confines of Mizzou Arena. 

Through the non-con slate, the only losses that wouldn’t immediately tank the season would be to Memphis, California, Kansas, or Illinois. Any other losses might set up another terrible season for the Tigers. With most of Missouri’s early season opponents finishing lower than 200th in KenPom ratings last season, there is no reason the Tigers shouldn’t dominate those games. Ideally going into January and the conference schedule Missouri should have at worse four losses, but as the team learned last year that is easier said than done.

Missouri has a relatively favorable SEC slate. The hardest games are on the road for the Tigers, which is ideal. Nobody wants to get run off the court in their home arena. Missouri opens conference play with a road trip to Auburn. Other tough road opponents include Texas, Tennessee, and Arkansas. Most of the other road games should be winnable. The Tigers get the likes of LSU, Vanderbilt, Oklahoma, and South Carolina at home, all games that Missouri should be able to win. The only super tough opponent at home is Alabama late in the season. Other than that the Tigers should be competitive this season. That’s not to say Missouri will win a bunch of conference games, but it’s hard to imagine a second straight season of finishing dead last in the SEC.