Missouri basketball team matches last season’s win total

In some ways, Missouri’s win over Green Bay on Saturday night was a pretty typical December non-conference game at Mizzou Arena. Like most teams, Missouri (8-2) has some of these games sprinkled throughout the non-conference schedule, matchups with teams from non-power conferences that are mostly just there to pad the Tigers’ win total while giving the visiting teams a nice payday.

Aside from the grim recent seasons in Missouri basketball, these games are usually lopsided, and Missouri rolled to a 100-77 win over the Phoenix (3-5), capped by a three-pointer from walk-on Adam Wolf to get the Tigers to triple digits. Green Bay grabbed an early lead on some hot shooting, but this was not a super competitive game. Missouri won comfortably, as expected. It was just a fun, feel-good night at the Arena.

What made Saturday noteworthy was, on Dec. 9, the Tigers equaled their win total from last season. Last season, Missouri went 8-24, and picked up that eighth win in dramatic fashion on March 8, in the SEC Tournament.

Of course, just getting to eight wins doesn’t mean much, and first-year Missouri coach Cuonzo Martin said as much after the game. But it’s fascinating footnote that shows how rapidly the Missouri basketball game has turned around.

Last season was incredibly sparse crowds, an avalanche of losses and some concession stands in the Arena closed down because they were grossly unnecessary for the size of the crowd. This season has seen season tickets sold out, lively crowds and wins. If Missouri had been able to hold on to its 16-point lead over West Virginia with eight minutes left to go in late November, the Tigers would probably be ranked.

The turnaround was a whirlwind, from Martin being named head coach, to top recruit Michael Porter Jr. deciding to attend Missouri, to several talented players following him to Columbia.

Of course, Porter suffered a back injury and is likely out for the season after a don’t-blink-or-you’ll-miss-it two minute stint in the season opener against Iowa State.

But the Tigers have plenty of other newcomers contributing, including Porter’s younger brother, Jontay, who reclassified up a year to be a college freshman this year. Jontay has shown some offensive skills, but he has consistently hit the glass going for rebounds. Freshman Jeremiah Tilmon has had a big impact inside with his length and offensive skills. Kassius Robertson, a transfer from Canisius, has been a steady contributor. Kassius from Canisius is shooting a sizzling .466 on three-pointers.

The Tigers are also getting good contributions from players who endured all the losing in previous seasons, including Kevin Puryear and Jordan Geist.

Missouri needs to develop more steady point guard play, but the Tigers have a lot of positive indications early on. This team has NCAA Tournament potential.

After a week off for finals, the Tigers return to action on Saturday night at Mizzou Arena when they host North Florida (7:30 p.m., SEC Network).