The Tigers are 15-3 (1-2) with wins over Vanderbilt, Illinois in St. Louis and Old Dominion and losses to Georgetown and at Texas A&M and Colorado. The Tigers return 2 starters from last season (a squad that posted a 23-11 overall record, including a 10-6 mark in the Big XII Conference). The Tigers are projected to finish 5th in the Big XII Conference.
The Tigers are lead by G Marcus Denmon, F Laurence Bowers, F Ricardo Ratliffe, G Michael Dixon and G Kim English. Denmon is averaging 18 points/game (leads the team), 4 rebounds/game and 2 assists/game. Denmon is Missouri's best shooter. The Tigers were 10th in the Big 12 in field goal percentage (this year they're 3rd) and seventh in three-point percentage (this year they're 2nd) last year. Last season Missouri was 4-0 when Denmon went off for 20 or more, including three road victories at Texas Tech, Colorado and Nebraska. This year they're 6-1 when he goes for 20 or more.
Bowers is averaging 12 points/game, 6 rebounds/game and 2 assists/game. Bowers has been historically Missouri's best rebounder but as a sophomore last year he also showed he can step out on the perimeter, going 10-25 (40%) from three-point range after taking just five threes as a freshman. Bowers reached double-figure scoring 18 times, including a career-high 23 against Georgia in just 20 minutes. This year he has already reached double-figure scoring 12 times. Bowers started the final six games of the season and came through against Clemson in the Big Dance, scoring 15 points, to go with 3 assists and 3 steals, in a career-high 33 minutes.
Ratliffe is averaging 12 points/game, 7 rebounds/game (leads the team) and 1 assist/game. Ratliffe was a big-time scorer who set career and single-season records at CFCC (Central Florida Community College). Ratliffe is a versatile big man who can get his points in a variety of ways.
Dixon is averaging 11 points/game, 3 rebounds/game and 5 assists/game (leads the team). Dixon is the team's best free throw shooter. As a freshman, Dixon crafted a 1.7:1 assist-to-turnover ratio and finished third on the team with 55 assists.
English is averaging 11 points/game, 3 rebounds/game and 2 assists/game. English was Missouri's leading scorer last season. English is the kind of player who can do things like score 24 against Illinois last season, get 20 points and 10 rebounds against Texas Tech last season or go for 20 in an NCAA Tournament game (against Clemson, when he won co-CBS Player-of-the-Game honors with teammate Keith Ramsey). English is considered a gym rat who spends a lot of time working on improving his game. Over the summer he worked hard on getting stronger and improving his ball handling.
The key to the Tigers is their interior scoring and rebounding if they're going to beat the big boys of the Big XII (Kansas, Kansas State, Baylor and Texas). That makes Ratliffe a big key in this game. Missouri is the kind of team capable of winning on any night as evident by the fact that nobody thought they'd be hitting full stride before January. I don't like the fact that this game is at Mizzou Arena. This game continues the brutal stretch of games that the Cats are on to start Big XII play.
