Welcome to the Morning Commute
Today we’re talking about Mizzou Hoops!
College basketball season is officially underway with Mizzou men’s and women’s hoops getting their seasons started with wins on Monday night.
On the men’s side, Mizzou
is off to a 1-0 start with an 88-67 road win over Howard. In a double-double performance, Shawn Phillips Jr. led the team with 16 points and 11 rebounds in his debut with the Tigers.
On the women’s side, the Kellie Harper era has officially started with a 78-71 win over Central Arkansas. A nice bounce back after the exhibition loss to Maryville. Illinois State transfer had another double-double performance with a team-leading 21 points and 12 rebounds.
Unfortunately, there were injuries to report. Prior to the game Trent Pierce and Annor Boateng were ruled out with lower-body injuries. Though, Sam Snelling notes in the game thread that both aren’t believed to be serious.
Averi Kroenke, however, has been ruled out for the rest of the season.
Yesterday at Rock M and Rock M+
Can Anthony Robinson II make the leap from promising underclassman to All-SEC point guard? Can Annor Boateng turn his potential into impact? Can Mark Mitchell stay healthy? All that and more in the coming months, and you won’t find a better place to keep up with the latest news and analysis than at this website and at Rock M+.
There’s a to look forward to this season on Mizzou Hoops.
This is Mizzou’s second biggest addition behind Johnnie Jones, and biggest defensive add so far. This is big news for the Tigers and I’d expect Overton to be a name you hear for a while.
Tajh Overton is a big-time addition to Mizzou Football’s 2026 recruiting class.
Had MU secured the services of Tristan Reed, who committed to Mississippi State on Saturday, the program would have likely locked in a top-10 recruiting class. Still, the three-man group includes a pair of five-star talents in Jason Crowe Jr. and Toni Bryant to go with a long-term asset Aidan Chronister.
Missing out on Tristan Reed stings a little bit, but Mizzou Basketball’s 2026 recruiting class is still in good shape.
It’s put up or shut up time for the Tigers, at least as far as prospective postseason bids go.
Texas A&M comes in as 5.5-point favorites against Mizzou with the Tigers’ CFP hopes on the line.
My prediction: Mizzou 89, Howard 71.
Gustafson was almost right on the dot!
Phillips II was the star of the show, dominating the paint on both ends of the floor. He was an efficient 8-of-9 from the floor, as he resembled a black hole around the rim: whenever the ball ended up in his vicinity near the basket, the end result was almost always two points. He also proved to be an explosive lob threat from the dunker’s spot, which Mizzou hasn’t had at the level Phillips was playing at on Monday. He also tallied 11 rebounds to secure a double-double.
Mizzou Basketball might have found a steal in the transfer portal with the addition of Shawn Phillips Jr.
“Losing is not fun and it’s awful. It’s just just a bad feeling,” Harper said. “So if it’s that bad…if we walk in here with one more point than the other team, we are going to celebrate it. We are going to be happy, and we are going to celebrate it because winning is hard to do. It’s hard to get wins in women’s basketball, so I’m proud of our team.”
Postgame comments from Kellie Harper after Mizzou’s season-opening win.
- Over at RockM+: The live game thread for Mizzou at Howard, and a general 2025-2026 thread on the college basketball season.
And ICYMI: Our last Mizzou Hoops Player Preview features freshman Nicholas Randall.
Rock M Radio’s The Verdict with Matt Watkins: Nicholas Randall of Mizzou Basketball
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