It’s almost here!

We’re officially less than a week away until what is hopefully a Mizzou basketball season with limited COVID interruptions.

If you’re not exactly ready for the season yet, perhaps this should get you ready. CBS Sports is doing a series of The 68 Greatest College Basketball Programs ever based on certain criteria, and Wednesday’s edition included teams 50-26.

Missouri respectfully made an appearance in these group of teams. With a 1,302-957 record since the 1938-1939 season, 10 regular season titles, 27 NCAA Tournament appearances, zero Final Fours (okay yeah we knew that), 288 weeks ranked, and 31 Top-60 NBA Draft picks — that totaled 460.8 points from CBS Sports’ scoring.

And according to Matt Norlander, that was good enough to place Mizzou as the 48th best College Basketball program of all-time.

Here’s Norlander’s take on the Tigers:

“Somewhat frequently referenced as the best program to never make a Final Four, Missouri fans may be a little deflated to learn their team is this low. Truth is, the Tigers have lived a life of being good but not truly great. In 2017, Mizzou fans were anticipating a return to relevancy, only to be set back by a hip injury to the greatest recruit in school history, Michael Porter Jr., who wound up playing three games in his college career. This is something of a snakebitten school, though clearly there have been good times often enough to be a top-50 program. In 2012, Missouri was a No. 2 seed and under Frank Haith had the No. 1 offense in America. (But it lost in the first round to No. 15 Norfolk State.) In 1982, arguably the best Tigers team ever was upset 79-78 by No. 6 Houston in the NCAAs. In 1995, Missouri was knocked out of the tournament thanks to Tyus Edney’s coast-to-coast buzzer-beating layup. And its greatest rival, Kansas, cut off the water on the rivalry after Missouri left the Big 12 for the SEC in 2012. (The rivalry is set to renew next year.)

“This is the program of Norm Stewart, who coached there from 1967-99 and was one of the true characters in college basketball history. There is no one coaching today similar to Stewart’s style, and that’s a shame. Missouri was a Top 25 regular in his tenure, and though it was never elite, it was consistently relevant — it’s best players being Anthony Peeler, Derrick Chievous, Steve Stipanovich, Doug Smith, and Jon Sundvold, all of whom played for the Tigers in the 1980s.”

I would say Norlander’s evaluation of the state of Missouri’s program is pretty fair, but here’s hoping Mizzou’s NCAA Tournament number changes from 27 to 28 this season.

That journey gets started on Wednesday night against Oral Roberts!

Wednesday night was also NBA Draft night, and former Georgia Bulldog Anthony Edwards was selected as the No. 1 overall pick by the Minnesota Timberwolves. Oh, but former Missouri Tiger (and Minnesota native) Reed Nikko had some fun on social media.

Just check out Nikko’s Instagram stories.....fun stuff.

Onto the links!

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Yesterday at Rock M

• Tyree Gillespie has the attention of the NFL, writes Brandon Kiley.
• Mizzou’s wings are experienced, but how much room is there for growth. Check out the latest basketball roundtable discussion with Josh Matejka, Jacob Giancola, and Kortay Vincent.
• Nate Edwards has his preview of the South Carolina Gamecocks
• Sam Snelling’s SEC Previews officially begin with the No. 14 Vanderbilt Commodores
• PODCAST: Shorthanded Mizzou Travels to Columbia East, with Nate Edwards and Brandon Kiley

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More Links:

(PowerMizzou)

• In his latest notebook, Mitchell Forde writes that Mizzou is dealing with a long layoff, short bench
• ($$) Here’s the latest edition of Gabe DeArmond’s Macadoodle’s Mailbag
• The 2020 Football Unofficial Scholarship Chart has been updated by Gabe DeArmond
• Here’s the latest episode of The 573 Report with Gabe DeArmond and Mitchell Forde

(STLToday)

• From Dave Matter: After long layoff, Mizzou committed to playing Gamecocks — if roster numbers hold up
• In the latest Tiger Talk, Dave Matter goes inside this week’s Mizzou-South Carolina match up
• Mizzou backup receiver Dominic Gicinto enters transfer portal, writes Dave Matter

(KC Star)

• From Souichi Terada, Mizzou Tigers wide receiver from Raytown decides to transfer
• Go fast or stay healthy? Mizzou football balances fine line amid injuries, COVID — writes Souichi Terada
• Mizzou football on edge of COVID-19 roster minimum as South Carolina kickoff nears, writes Souichi Terada

(Columbia Missourian)

• From Adam Cole, Missouri receiver Gicinto enters transfer portal
• Max Baker takes a quick look at the latest MU players in the pros

(Columbia Daily Tribune)

• From Eric Blum, Mizzou receiver Gicinto enters transfer portal
• Comeback falls short for Mizzou soccer in SEC Quarterfinals as Eric Blum has the recap of the loss to South Carolina
• Bazelak, Tigers see opportunity if layoff ends, writes Kevin Graeler

(Miscellaneous/Tweets)

• Here’s Dominic Gicinto’s statement on entering the transfer portal. We wish him the best in the future!

• A happy birthday to Torrence Watson!

• Here’s a look at the latest bowl projections for Mizzou: ($$) The Athletic’s Stewart Mandel has them in the Gator Bowl vs Boston College, Watch Stadium’s Brett McMurphy has them in the Birmingham Bowl vs UCF
• Kylie Deberg is good at volleyball. #Analysis

• Mizzou Volleyball is ranked eighth in the AVCA coaches poll heading into their weekend series at Ole Miss on Friday and Saturday.

• On MUTigers.com, No. 8 Mizzou Volleyball Visits Ole Miss to Close Fall Season
• The latest Newcomer Feature from Mizzou Women’s Basketball centers around Sara Rose-Smith. Here’s more on MUTigers.com.

• On Saturday Down South, Steve Marik writes that the Tigers’ offense should have a big night at South Carolina

• If you’re looking to sign up for ESPN+, Rock M Nation now has an affiliate link: click Here for ESPN+ Now!
• If you’re looking to sign up for a new streaming service, you can try FuboTV: click HERE for FuboTV access — FuboTV now has ESPN, CBS, FS1 and more sports channels.
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