Mizzou Basketball: Now in March, who are these Missouri Tigers?

Cuonzo Martin is in his fourth season with the Missouri Tigers. This is already the fourth team he’s coached, but it’s already the longest he’s stayed with one team. He spent three years with each of Missouri State, Tennessee, and Cal. (And since Springfield, Mo., and Knoxville, Tenn., are two of the worst places in the United States, I totally get it.)

Anyway, he’s building something. When he arrived, he gave this program a sense of direction after three seasons of…hmm…how to say this nicely. Let’s just say the three years before Martin landed in Columbia were bleak. Rudderless, even. It’s like that Alexander kid’s very bad day extended throughout his middle school years. Very bad times, indeed.

It hasn’t been all good for Martin here, though. He arrived with The Promised One–only to see that burgeoning superstar play in a whopping three games due to injuries. His brother, though: now he did something for Missouri. Until, of course, he also got hurt.

In Martin’s first season, the Tigers went 20-13 (10-8) and made the tournament. The following season, Missouri went just 15-17 (5-13). Last year, before the world ended, the Tigers stood at 15-16 (7-11).

The current iteration of the Tigers is very much molded in the image of Martin. Experienced, grizzled, never going to quit–but not the most talented, not the best, not the most disciplined.

Don’t get me wrong: I love what Martin’s done. He’s turned Pinson into a(n inconsistent) playmaker. Jeremiah Tilmon couldn’t stay on the floor when he arrived, but now the big man’s averaging nearly 13 points per game to go with 7.5 rebounds. Senior Dru Smith, who started his career at Evansville, leads the team by averaging 14 points a game. Senior Mark Smith averages 30 minutes an outing while scoring 10.1 points. Senior Mitchell Smith put up 17 in the win against Florida.

Back to my question at the beginning: Just who the heck is Mizzou basketball near the season’s end?

The Tigers are a bunch of things, but overall, they’re experienced with an experienced head coach; they can hang with the top teams in the league while they can also falter against some of the worst. They’re Dr. Henry Jekyll. They’re Mr. Edward Hyde.

Ultimately, this is a fun team to watch that will undoubtedly break your heart.

Hopefully, Missouri will make some noise in The Big Dance. Expect them to be seeded anywhere between 8 and 10.

Could the Tigers upset a No. 1 seed in the second round? Absolutely.

But don’t be too surprised when they then get blown out in the Sweet Sixteen against a No. 13 seed.