Men’s college basketball season is back! The St. Louis Billikens, and Missouri Tigers, are ready to dominate the season. The Billikens are 3-0, after their impressive win on the 11th, against Illinois State. The Tigers are off to a steady start, with a record of 2-1.
The Billikens have a young team this year, with some outstanding recruits. Bruce Zhang, is a true freshman from Nanchang, China. He is seven feet tall, and knows how to work inside the lane, and take it all the way to the hoop. Bruce came to the U.S in 2022, to the Skill Factory in Georgia, since then, he has worked on his English.
“He’s always in a good mood. He’s 100% different than when he visited. He didn’t say two words. Now, he walks across campus and everyone’s surrounding Bruce. He’s talking to everyone. Everywhere he goes, he attracts attention because he’s obviously a big guy and has a great personality,” Head Coach Travis Ford said, according to stltoday.com.
The Bills are not only built off strong new recruits, they also have senior Terrance Hargrove Jr, and redshirt junior Gibson Jimmerson. Both these players have been on the team since freshman year, and have built a steady foundation for the program. Hargrove is a 6’5 center, and averaged 5.9 points, and 3.7 rebounds, each game last year. Jimmerson, is a 6’5 guard, and led the Billikens with 45.7% shooting last year. Gibson hit 87 three pointers last season; third in school history.
“This year, he’s on pace for about 110. That would shatter the record and he does it by shooting over 40%. That’s not just accuracy, it’s the speed, the way he catches it and ultimately shoots,” according to ksdk.com.
Mizzou had a great home opener on November 6th, against Arkansas-Pine Bluff. They won 101- 79, Sean East II led the team, with 21 points. Grad student Noah Carter came to Mizzou last year, and was 2022 second team all- MVC.
The huge 68-50 win against SIUE on Monday, Carter finished with 15 points and outworked others for ten rebounds. Not only did Carter have a nice game, Sean East II led the team in points with 20 tallies on the board.
“During the SIUE shooting slump, Mizzou forced six SIUE turnovers and out scored the opposition 26-11, rewarding MU with a comfortable victory,” according to mutigers.com.
Mizzou head coach Dennis Gates came to the University of Missouri last year, and made an immediate impact on the program. Last season the Tigers won 25 games, which is the program’s highest win total in 11 years. Also, Gates led the team to its first NCAA tournament victory, in 13 years. One of the most impressive accomplishments, being last year Gates was honored with SEC Coach of the Year, by USA Today. Head Coach Dennis Gates, is back this year and is ready to lead the Tigers to high victories this season.
“Striving to be champions in the classroom, on the court and in the community, Mizzou also thrived academically in the first season under Gates. Brown became the first Tiger to be named SEC Scholar-Athlete of the year, while becoming the third in program history,” according to mutigers.com.
The Billikens and Tigers are off to powerful starts and have already started to make big names for themselves this year. After both having strong 2022-23 seasons, the coaches are expecting more this year. Coaches expect returning players to step up on, and off, the court this season.
