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Mizzou men's basketball schedule preview: Games 11-12

Kyle McAreavyby: Kyle McAreavy12 hours agoKyle_mcareavy
NCAA Basketball: Missouri at Mississippi State
Feb 1, 2025; Starkville, Mississippi, USA; Missouri Tigers forward Trent Pierce (11) grabs a loose ball against Mississippi State Bulldogs guard Shawn Jones Jr. (5) during the first half at Humphrey Coliseum. Mandatory Credit: Wesley Hale-Imagn Images

We’ve reached mid-December and very nearly the end of the Tigers’ 13-game non-conference schedule. There’s one more non-conference game on the Mizzou men’s basketball schedule after games 11-12. But for now, we’re looking at matchups with Alabama State and Bethune-Cookman.

Game 11: Hosting Alabama State, Dec. 11.

After a couple of tough contests away from Mizzou Arena, the Tigers return home to take on the Hornets for the third time in program history.

The first time was a 129-64 Mizzou win in 1987, the second was an 82-65 Mizzou win last season for the final game of the non-conference schedule.

Including the loss to the Tigers, Alabama State went 20-16 last year and 12-6 in Southwestern Athletic Conference play. The Hornets won the SWAC Tournament in three close games and went on to a play-in game in the NCAA Tournament. Alabama State beat Saint Francis for the chance to play top-seeded Auburn, which cruised to a 20-point win against the Hornets.

Alabama State averaged 73.1 points per game last year and allowed 72.4.

The Hornets shot 40.5 percent from the field, 32.7 percent from 3 and 68.6 percent from the free-throw line.

The Hornets return five players:

  • Senior guard Micah Simpson (6-foot-2, 190 pounds) played a bench role throughout the season last year, appearing in 36 games and starting one. He scored 6.6 points and brought down 1.6 rebounds to be the team’s fourth-leading scorer last season. He was second on the team with 51 made 3-pointers last year.
  • Redshirt junior forward JaSteven Walker (6-10, 200) started 18-of-36 games last season and scored 5.3 points to go with 3.5 rebounds per game. He led the team with 28 blocks.
  • Graduate guard Tyler Mack (6-5, 185) appeared in 31 games and started four. He scored 4.6 points and brought down 1.6 rebounds per game.
  • Senior guard Jordon Marshall (6-2, 200) appeared in three games and played a total of 5 minutes.
  • Senior center Mario Andrews (6-6, 220) played in nine games and averaged 1/4 points and 4.3 rebounds per game.

Alabama State brought in a number of transfers, but only one from a major school. Damarien Yates joins the Hornets after a season at Memphis. He played in 14 games, but that did not include when Mizzou opened the season against the other Tigers.

After two tough games, I think this should be a pretty easy one for Mizzou.

Game 12: Hosting Bethune-Cookman, Dec. 14.

Look at that, a second SWAC team. The Tigers will go into the winter break with a matchup against the Wildcats.

Bethune-Cookman went 17-16 overall last season with a 13-5 record in SWAC play.

Wildcats coach (and athletic director) Reggie Theus is back for a fifth season after his team scored 68.6 points per game last year and allowed 72.2.

The Wildcats shot 42.8 percent from the field, 31.9 percent from 3 and 69 percent from the free-throw line.

Bethune-Cookman returns three regular starters:

  • Senior forward Daniel Rouzan (6-8, 235) started all 33 games last year and was the tream’s third-leading scorer at 11.8 points per game to go with 5.5 rebounds per contest and 26 total blocks.
  • Graduate forward Reggie Ward (6-6, 230) started 20 of the 24 games he played and added 8.8 points and a team-high 7.5 rebounds per game, while poking away 24 steals.
  • Senior guard Seneca Willoughby (6-3, 185) started 17 of the 32 games he played in. He scored 4.9 points per game, added 3.3 rebounds per contest and dished out a team-high 95 assists.

The Wildcats added a number of transfers, but not one from a high-major team.

It’s an older roster with just one freshman and one redshirt freshman. Otherwise, it’s all juniors or older. That experience can help, but there’s a reason you schedule SWAC opponents, and it’s not to have a competitive game.

Last season, Bethune-Cookman lost to Nebraska by just five points, but lost to Texas Tech by 33, Minnesota by 17, Virginia by 18, West Virginia by 17 and Mississippi State by 14.

I’ll give them credit for putting together a fantastic non-conference slate.

But it didn’t help much as the Wildcats’ season ended with a second-round loss to Jackson State in the SWAC Tournament.

I think this is another easy win that sends the Tigers into Christmas at 11-1.

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