Mizzou Basketball tips off with an Exhibition game tonight at 7 pm

College basketball offseason is the longest offseason. By Mid-late March, virtually all the teams are done playing, and we have to wait until November to watch again. That’s seven excruciating months of no college basketball.

But it’s BACK! Tonight! And it doesn’t count! Because it’s an exhibition game! It’s also not on TV!

Still, the Missouri Tigers are playing in an actual basketball game tonight with referees and official scorers, and fans and all of that. Since it’s not really possible to watch the game unless you’re in Columbia, this isn’t really a game thread. But use it if you’re keeping track of the score somehow. Unfortunately, we don’t have any of our new beat writers at the game to tell you how things went, but I’ll do a study hall on the game regardless, and we’ll try to glean what we can from a game against a Division II in state opponent.

So here are three things to wa.... er, keep note of:

Who starts and who are the first two off the bench?

We can probably expect Dru Smith, Mark Smith, and Jeremiah Tilmon to start, but the next four spots should be the ones to watch. Who is Cuonzo Martin taking a look at early? If the answer is Watson, Pickett, Pinson, Nikko, then you’re a little disappointed the freshmen aren’t cracking just yet. But I think Cuonzo will want to see the freshmen early and often in a game where the results won’t matter.

Assist to Turnover Ratio?

Missouri should be able to overwhelm UCM from a talent standpoint. But how efficiently are they running offense, and are they limiting turovers? Will the younger guards resist the urge to make the special play and just make the simple one?

How does the back end of the rotation play?

With so much talk about the guys at the top, this is a team with a fairly deep roster of talent. For the guys who aren’t expected to contribute a ton, how early do they get in the game and how much of a drop off is there when they come in and the top line guys sit?

How to watch:

You can go to Mizzou Arena and watch

How to listen:

The game will be broadcast on the Tiger Radio Network. You can download the Mizzou Tigers app to listen as well.

Who is playing?

Mizzou is taking on Central Missouri, the Mules!

What time is this happening?

Tip off is at 7pm Central time.

So five questions for you:

1. Who is your starting five? Plus first player off the bench?
2. How many threes will Mizzou attempt? How many will they make?
3. What is the combined Points, Assists, Rebounds for the three freshmen?
4. Predict the score?
5. Who is your trifecta?