2020–21 Missouri Tigers men's basketball team

2020–21 Missouri Tigers men's basketball
NCAA tournament, first round
ConferenceSoutheastern Conference
Record16–10 (8–8 SEC)
Head coach
Assistant coaches
  • Chris Hollender
  • Cornell Mann
  • Marco Harris
Home arenaMizzou Arena
Seasons
2020–21 Southeastern Conference men's basketball standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT
No. 5 Alabama† 16 – 2   .889 26 – 7   .788
No. 10 Arkansas 13 – 4   .765 25 – 7   .781
LSU 11 – 6   .647 19 – 10   .655
Tennessee 10 – 7   .588 18 – 9   .667
Florida 9 – 7   .563 15 – 10   .600
Ole Miss 10 – 8   .556 16 – 12   .571
Missouri 8 – 8   .500 16 – 10   .615
Kentucky 8 – 9   .471 9 – 16   .360
Mississippi State 8 – 10   .444 18 – 15   .545
Georgia 7 – 11   .389 14 – 12   .538
Auburn* 7 – 11   .389 13 – 14   .481
South Carolina 4 – 12   .250 6 – 15   .286
Texas A&M 2 – 8   .200 8 – 10   .444
Vanderbilt 3 – 13   .188 9 – 16   .360
† 2021 SEC tournament winner
* Ineligible for postseason due to self-imposed postseason ban.

The 2020–21 Missouri Tigers men's basketball team represented the University of Missouri in the 2020–21 NCAA Division I men's basketball season and was led by head coach Cuonzo Martin, who was in his fourth year at Missouri. The team played its home games at Mizzou Arena in Columbia, Missouri as a ninth-year members of the Southeastern Conference. They finished the season 16-10, 8-8 in SEC Play to finish in 7th place. They defeated Georgia in the Second Round of the SEC tournament before losing in the quarterfinals to Arkansas. They received an at-large bid to the NCAA tournament where they lost in the First Round to Oklahoma.

Previous season

The Tigers finished the 2019–20 season 15–16, 7–11 in SEC play to finish in a tie for 10th place with Arkansas. Missouri never got a chance to play in the 2020 SEC men's basketball tournament because of the coronavirus pandemic.

Departures

Name Number Pos. Height Weight Year Hometown Notes
Reed Nikko 14 F 6'10" 240 Senior Maple Grove, MN Graduated
Mario McKinney Jr. 11 G 6'2" 185 Freshman St. Louis, MO Transferring to John A. Logan College[1]
LaTrayvion Jackson 2 F 6'8" 215 Sophomore Ypsilanti, MI Transferring to Seton Hall[2]
Axel Okongo 15 C 7'0" 250 Senior Saâcy-sur-Marne, France Transferring to Eastern Michigan[3]

Assistant Coach Michael Porter Sr.'s contract was not renewed at the end of the season.[4]

2020 recruiting class

College recruiting information
Name Hometown High school / college Height Weight Commit date
Jordan Wilmore
C 		Fredericksburg, Virginia The Skill Factory Prep School 7 ft 2 in (2.18 m) 242 lb (110 kg) Nov 13, 2019 
Star ratings: Rivals: N/A   247Sports:3/5 stars    ESPN:3/5 stars   ESPN grade: 79
Overall recruiting rankings:
  • Note: In many cases, Scout, Rivals, 247Sports, and ESPN may conflict in their listings of height and weight.
  • In these cases, the average was taken. ESPN grades are on a 100-point scale.

Sources:

Incoming Transfers

Name Number Pos. Height Weight Year Hometown Notes
Ed Chang 11 F 6'8" 215 Junior Papillion, NE Transfer from Salt Lake City Community College[5]
Drew Buggs 2 G 6'3" 195 RS Senior Long Beach, CA Graduate Transfer from Hawaii[6]

Roster

2020–21 Missouri Tigers men's basketball team
Players Coaches
Pos. # Name Height Weight Year Previous school Hometown
G 0 Torrence Watson 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 205 lb (93 kg) Jr Whitfield School St. Louis, MO
G 1 Xavier Pinson 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 170 lb (77 kg) Jr Simeon Career Academy Chicago, IL
G 2 Drew Buggs 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 195 lb (88 kg) RS Sr Long Beach Poly High School
Hawaii 		Long Beach, CA
G 4 Javon Pickett 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 220 lb (100 kg) Jr Belleville East High School Belleville, IL
F 5 Mitchell Smith 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 221 lb (100 kg) RS Sr Van Buren High School Van Buren, AR
F 11 Ed Chang 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 215 lb (98 kg) Jr Garfield High School
Salt Lake City Community College 		Papillion, NE
G 12 Dru Smith 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 203 lb (92 kg) RS Sr Reitz Memorial High School
Evansville 		Evansville, IN
G 13 Mark Smith 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 220 lb (100 kg) Sr Edwardsville High School
Illinois 		Edwardsville, IL
F 15 Sean Durugordon 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 215 lb (98 kg) Fr Putnam Science Academy Queens, NY
C 23 Jeremiah Tilmon 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 260 lb (118 kg) Sr East St. Louis High School East St. Louis, IL
F 24 Kobe Brown 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 240 lb (109 kg) So Lee High School Huntsville, AL
C 32 Jordan Wilmore 7 ft 3 in (2.21 m) 245 lb (111 kg) Fr The Skill Factory Prep School Laurel, MD
F 42 Parker Braun 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 217 lb (98 kg) RS So Blue Valley Northwest High School Overland Park, KS
Head coach
Assistant coach(es)
Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (S) Suspended
  • (I) Ineligible
  • (W) Walk-on

Roster
Last update: June 9, 2020

Schedule and results

Date
time, TV 		Rank# Opponent# Result Record High points High rebounds High assists Site (attendance)
city, state
Regular Season
November 25, 2020*
6:00 pm, SECN+ 		Oral Roberts W 91–64  1–0
  18 – Ma. Smith   12 – Tilmon   6 – D. Smith  Mizzou Arena (0)
Columbia, MO
December 2, 2020*
8:00 pm, FS1 		vs. No. 21 Oregon W 83–75  2–0
  22 – Pinson   9 – Tilmon   4 – D. Smith  CHI Health Center (89)
Omaha, NE
December 6, 2020*
1:00 pm, ESPN2 		at Wichita State W 72–62  3–0
  19 – Ma. Smith   7 – Brown   6 – Pinson  Charles Koch Arena (100)
Wichita, KS
December 9, 2020*
7:15 pm, SECN 		Liberty W 69–60  4–0
  17 – Ma. Smith   9 – Tilmon   5 – Buggs  Mizzou Arena (0)
Columbia, MO
December 12, 2020*
7:00 pm, ESPNU 		No. 6 Illinois
Braggin' Rights 		W 81–78  5–0
  17 – Tied   8 – Brown   5 – Pinson  Mizzou Arena (578)
Columbia, MO
December 18, 2020*
7:00 pm, SECN+ 		No. 16 Prairie View A&M Cancelled due to COVID-19 issues within Prairie View A&M. Mizzou Arena 
Columbia, MO
December 22, 2020*
6:00 pm, SECN 		No. 14 Bradley W 54–53  6–0
  15 – Pinson   10 – Tilmon   3 – Pickett  Mizzou Arena (2,956)
Columbia, MO
December 30, 2020
8:00 pm, SECN 		No. 12 No. 7 Tennessee L 53–73  6–1
(0–1) 		 11 – Pinson   6 – Mi. Smith   2 – Tied  Mizzou Arena (3,164)
Columbia, MO
January 2, 2021
11:00 am, CBS 		No. 12 at Arkansas W 81–68  7–1
(1–1) 		 25 – Tilmon   11 – Tilmon   4 – Tied  Bud Walton Arena (4,400)
Fayetteville, AR
January 5, 2021
8:00 pm, SECN 		No. 13 at Mississippi State L 63–78  7–2
(1–2) 		 16 – Tilmon   6 – Tilmon   8 – Pinson  Humphrey Coliseum (1,000)
Starkville, MS
January 12, 2021
8:00 pm, SECN 		No. 17 Vanderbilt Cancelled due to COVID-19 issues within Vanderbilt. Mizzou Arena 
Columbia, MO
January 16, 2021
12:00 pm, SECN 		No. 17 at Texas A&M W 68–52  8–2
(2–2) 		 15 – D. Smith   10 – Tilmon   6 – D. Smith  Reed Arena (1,548)
College Station, TX
January 19, 2021
6:00 pm, SECN 		No. 19 South Carolina W 81–70  9–2
(3–2) 		 19 – Tilmon   10 – Tilmon   4 – Buggs  Mizzou Arena (0)
Columbia, MO
January 23, 2021
7:30 pm, SECN 		No. 19 at No. 6 Tennessee W 73–64  10–2
(4–2) 		 27 – Pinson   7 – Brown   3 – Buggs  Thompson-Boling Arena (4,191)
Knoxville, TN
January 26, 2021
8:00 pm, ESPNU 		No. 12 at Auburn L 82–88  10–3
(4–3) 		 21 – Tied   10 – Tilmon   4 – Pinson  Auburn Arena (1,824)
Auburn, AL
January 30, 2021*
1:00 pm, ESPNU 		No. 12 TCU
Big 12/SEC Challenge 		W 102–98 OT 11–3
  36 – Pinson   13 – Brown   5 – D. Smith  Mizzou Arena (3,063)
Columbia, MO
February 3, 2021
6:00 pm, ESPN2 		No. 18 Kentucky W 75–70  12–3
(5–3) 		 26 – D. Smith   12 – Mi. Smith   5 – D. Smith  Mizzou Arena (3,033)
Columbia, MO
February 6, 2021
11:00 am, ESPN 		No. 18 No. 10 Alabama W 68–65  13–3
(6–3) 		 16 – D. Smith   9 – Brown   4 – D. Smith  Mizzou Arena (3,113)
Columbia, MO
February 10, 2021
8:00 pm, SECN 		No. 10 at Ole Miss L 59–80  13–4
(6–4) 		 17 – D. Smith   6 – Tilmon   3 – Tied  The Pavilion at Ole Miss (895)
Oxford, MS
February 13, 2021
3:00 pm, ESPN2 		No. 10 Arkansas L 81–86 OT 13–5
(6–5) 		 23 – Pinson   9 – Brown   7 – D. Smith  Mizzou Arena (3,111)
Columbia, MO
February 16, 2021
6:00 pm, SECN 		No. 20 at Georgia L 70–80  13–6
(6–6) 		 21 – Brown   7 – Ma. Smith   4 – Pinson  Stegeman Coliseum (1,638)
Athens, GA
February 20, 2021
1:00 pm, ESPN2 		No. 20 at South Carolina W 93–78  14–6
(7–6) 		 17 – Tied   6 – Brown   7 – D. Smith  Colonial Life Arena (3,176)
Columbia, SC
February 23, 2021
8:00 pm, SECN 		No. 24 Ole Miss L 53–60  14–7
(7–7) 		 12 – Brown   10 – Tilmon   6 – D. Smith  Mizzou Arena (2,995)
Columbia, MO
February 27, 2021
5:00 pm, SECN 		No. 24 Texas A&M Cancelled due to COVID-19 issues within Texas A&M. Mizzou Arena 
Columbia, MO
March 3, 2021
5:30 pm, SECN 		at Florida W 72–70  15–7
(8–7) 		 17 – D. Smith   6 – Mi. Smith   9 – D. Smith  O'Connell Center (2,306)
Gainesville, FL
March 6, 2021
2:00 pm, SECN 		LSU L 80–86  15–8
(8–8) 		 17 – D. Smith   10 – Brown   4 – D. Smith  Mizzou Arena (3,112)
Columbia, MO
SEC Tournament
March 11, 2021
6:00 pm, SECN 		(7) vs. (10) Georgia
Second round 		W 73–70  16–8
  17 – Pinson   8 – D. Smith   4 – Brown  Bridgestone Arena (1,809)
Nashville, TN
March 12, 2021
6:00 pm, SECN 		(7) vs. (2) No. 8 Arkansas
Quarterfinals 		L 64–70  16–9
  14 – Pinson   11 – Brown   5 – D. Smith  Bridgestone Arena (2,155)
Nashville, TN
NCAA tournament
March 20, 2021
6:25 pm, TNT 		(9 W) vs. (8 W) Oklahoma
First Round 		L 68–72  16–10
  22 – D. Smith   12 – Tilmon   5 – Pinson  Lucas Oil Stadium 
Indianapolis, IN
*Non-conference game. #Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses.
All times are in Central Time.

Rankings

See also: 2020–21 NCAA Division I men's basketball rankings
Ranking movements
Legend: ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking
— = Not ranked RV = Received votes
Week
PollPre12345678910111213141516Final
AP——RV1614121317191218102024RV—RVNot released
Coaches——*—18141213161912171019RVRV—RV—

*Coaches did not release a week 1 poll.

References

  1. ^ "Mario McKinney lands at Illinois junior college; Mizzou targets 4-star guard from Nebraska". St. Louis Dispatch. January 28, 2020. Retrieved June 19, 2020.[permanent dead link‍]
  2. ^ "Swingman Tray Jackson transfers from Missouri to Seton Hall". ESPN. April 30, 2020. Retrieved June 19, 2020.
  3. ^ "Axel Okongo's transfer means Missouri has flexibility over the summer". Rock M Nation. June 17, 2020. Retrieved June 19, 2020.
  4. ^ "Mizzou basketball's Michael Porter Sr.'s contract not renewed. But he could stick around". Kansas City Star. May 1, 2020. Retrieved June 19, 2020.
  5. ^ "Mizzou Hoops Signs Ed Chang". Missouri Tigers. May 7, 2020. Retrieved June 19, 2020.[permanent dead link‍]
  6. ^ "Mizzou Men's Hoops Inks Grad Transfer, Drew Buggs". Missouri Tigers. April 29, 2020. Retrieved June 19, 2020.[permanent dead link‍]