What will you be doing tonight at 8 pm CT? Watching basketball, of course. The Cuonzo Martin era begins against Iowa State at Mizzou Arena (or on SEC Network), and it’s time for the top freshman in the country to officially introduce himself.

Season tickets have sold out, the athletic department announced Tuesday. In total, the 2017-18 public season-ticket-sales total of 9,572 is a Mizzou Arena record and an increase over last year’s final total of 5,802, the athletic department said.

Those ticket sales aren’t solely because of Porter, but he understands the importance of succeeding anyway.

“This is the biggest year of my life so far,” he said. “This is my chance to make a mark on history. I can really make a difference in the history at Mizzou. I’m excited.”

It’s been...

• 483 days since Michael Porter Jr. committed to Washington
• 365 days since he officially signed with Washington
• 335 days since Missouri lost the first of 13 games in a row to all but clinch Kim Anderson’s firing
• 250 days since Anderson was officially fired
• 240 days since Mizzou hired Martin ... and, almost simultaneously, Washington fired Lorenzo Romar
• 231 days since Porter got his release from Washington and committed to Mizzou

More than 10 months after one hell of a season finale, the new season is finally here.

Other Hoops Links:

• The dunk that changed everything.
• Family, family, family.
• First-game nerves? Check. Sold-out crowd? Check.
• The line for tonight’s game opened at ISU -1. It has quickly surged to Mizzou -5.

Football Links:

Mizzou Football is on a three-game winning streak and has been thrust into the background this week. Uncommon. But there’s still plenty to talk (and read) about on the gridiron.

• You knew this already, but Terry Beckner Jr. has been gooooooood of late.
• Want to read what Martin Rucker has to say about the Tennessee game? Of course you do.
• Mizzou could be hosting Gary Patterson’s Tennessee Vols tomorrow night, but UT’s old AD "didn't think I could handle the big stage.” Ohhhhh man.
• PREFERRED WALK-ON ALERT: Blue Springs punter Josh Dodge couldn’t wait any longer to announce he’d be coming aboard at Mizzou next year.

More Links:

• Schweizer Time! Mizzou Cross Country will race in the NCAA Regionals today in Ames. The women’s 6K race begins at 10:45, and the men’s 10K follows at 11:45.
• Signing Day/Week continued on Thursday. Mizzou Hoops officially announced K.J. Santos, Javon Pickett, and Torrence Watson (see below), plus Mizzou Tennis signed one of the 10 best players in Texas, and Mizzou Wrestling announced nine signings, including five top-100 recruits. Mizzou also announced that six Tiger sports led the SEC in Graduation Success Rate, while we’re at it.

• Jordan Frericks was named to the Katrina McClain Award watch list. If you don’t know what that is (and I can’t say I did until about 30 seconds ago), it’s an award for the best power forward in women’s basketball.