# 2019–20 Missouri Tigers men's basketball team

The 2019–20 Missouri Tigers men's basketball team represented the University of Missouri in the 2019–20 NCAA Division I men's basketball season and was led by head coach Cuonzo Martin, who was in his third year at Missouri. The team played its home games at Mizzou Arena in Columbia, Missouri as eighth-year members of the Southeastern Conference. They finished the season 15–16, 7–11 in SEC play to finish in a tie for tenth place. They were set to take on Texas A&M in the second round of the SEC tournament. However, the SEC Tournament was cancelled amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

## Previous season

The Tigers finished the 2018–19 season 15–17, 5–13 in SEC play to finish in 12th place. As the No. 12 seed in the SEC tournament, they defeated the Georgia Bulldogs in the first round 71–61. Missouri would lose in the second round to the number five seed Auburn. The Tigers did not receive an at-large bid or earn an automatic-bid to the NCAA tournament.

### Departures

| Name | Number | Pos. | Height | Weight | Year | Hometown | Notes |
| Jordan Geist | 15 | G | 6'2" | 180 | R-Senior | Fort Wayne, IN | Graduated |
| Kevin Puryear | 24 | F | 6'7" | 238 | Senior | Blue Springs, MO | Graduated |
| Adam Wolf | 32 | F | 6'7" | 219 | Senior | Beaver Dam, WI | Graduated |
| Cullen VanLeer | 33 | G | 6'4" | 208 | Senior | Pacific, MO | Graduated |
| Jontay Porter | 11 | F | 6'11" | 240 | Sophomore | Columbia, MO | Declared for 2019 NBA draft |
| Christian Guess | 55 | G | 6'5" | 180 | Freshman | Cleveland, OH | Transferring to Tallahassee Community College |
| Ronnie Suggs | 3 | G | 6'6" | 190 | Junior | Washington, MO | Transferred to Southern Illinois |
| K. J. Santos | 2 | F | 6'8" | 220 | Sophomore | Geneva, IL | Left to play professionally for Brujos de Guayama |

### 2019 recruiting class

US college sports recruiting information for high school athletes :
| Name | Hometown | High school / college | Height | Weight | Commit date |
| LaTrayvion Jackson PF | Ypsilanti, Michigan | Sunrise Christian Academy | 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) | 200 lb (91 kg) | Nov 14, 2018 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: ESPN grade: 86 ||||||
| Mario McKinney Jr. PG | St. Louis, Missouri | Vashon High School | 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) | 180 lb (82 kg) | Sep 24, 2018 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: ESPN grade: 81 ||||||
| Kobe Brown SF | Huntsville, AL | Lee High School | 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) | 220 lb (100 kg) | May 14, 2019 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: ESPN grade: 82 ||||||
| Overall recruiting rankings: ||||||
| Note: In many cases, Scout, Rivals, 247Sports, and ESPN may conflict in their listings of height and weight. In these cases, the average was taken. ESPN grades are on a 100-point scale. Sources: ||||||

### Incoming Transfers

| Name | Number | Pos. | Height | Weight | Year | Hometown | Notes |
| Axel Okongo | 15 | C | 7'0" | 240 | Junior | Saâcy-sur-Marne, France | Transfer from Northwest College |

## Preseason
### SEC media poll

The SEC media poll was released on October 15, 2019.
Media poll :
| Predicted finish | Team |
| 1 | Kentucky |
| 2 | Florida |
| 3 | LSU |
| 4 | Auburn |
| 5 | Tennessee |
| 6 | Alabama |
| 7 | Mississippi State |
| 8 | Ole Miss |
| 9 | Georgia |
| 10 | South Carolina |
| 11 | Arkansas |
| 12 | Texas A&M |
| 13 | Missouri |
| 14 | Vanderbilt |

## Roster

On January 11, 2020, Martin announced that the Tigers had suspended freshman Mario McKinney indefinitely for unspecified reasons.

## Schedule and results

| Date time, TV | Rank$^#$ | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | High points | High rebounds | High assists | Site (attendance) city, state |
| Exhibition |||||||||
| November 1, 2019* 7:00 pm, SECN+ | | Central Missouri | W 80–56 | | 12 – Brown | 7 – M. Smith | 7 – D. Smith | Mizzou Arena (7,072) Columbia, MO |
| Regular season |||||||||
| November 6, 2019* 7:00 pm, SECN+ | | Incarnate Word | W 82–42 | 1–0 | 16 – Tilmon | 8 – Pickett | 5 – Pinson, D. Smith | Mizzou Arena (8,185) Columbia, MO |
| November 8, 2019* 7:00 pm, SECN+ | | Northern Kentucky | W 71–56 | 2–0 | 19 – Ma. Smith | 7 – Mi. Smith | 6 – Pinson | Mizzou Arena (8,486) Columbia, MO |
| November 12, 2019* 6:00 pm, CBSSN | | at No. 21 Xavier | L 58–63 $^{OT}$ | 2–1 | 22 – D. Smith | 10 – D. Smith | 4 – D. Smith | Cintas Center (10,224) Cincinnati, OH |
| November 18, 2019* 7:00 pm, SECN+ | | Wofford Hall of Fame Classic campus-site game | W 75–56 | 3–1 | 19 – Ma. Smith | 5 – Tilmon | 7 – D. Smith | Mizzou Arena (8,144) Columbia, MO |
| November 20, 2019* 7:00 pm, SECN+ | | Morehead State Hall of Fame Classic campus-site game | W 70–52 | 4–1 | 21 – Ma. Smith | 9 – D. Smith | 5 – D. Smith | Mizzou Arena (8,142) Columbia, MO |
| November 25, 2019* 6:00 pm, ESPNU | | vs. Butler Hall of Fame Classic semifinals | L 52–63 | 4–2 | 19 – D. Smith | 4 – Mi. Smith | 3 – Pinson | Sprint Center (8,963) Kansas City, MO |
| November 26, 2019* 6:00 pm, ESPNews | | vs. Oklahoma Hall of Fame Classic third place game | L 66–77 | 4–3 | 18 – Ma. Smith | 8 – Ma. Smith | 7 – D. Smith | Sprint Center (8,506) Kansas City, MO |
| December 3, 2019* 7:00 pm, SECN+ | | Charleston Southern | L 60–68 | 4–4 | 15 – Tilmon | 9 – Tilmon | 4 – D. Smith | Mizzou Arena (7,894) Columbia, MO |
| December 7, 2019* 6:30 pm, ESPNU | | at Temple | W 64–54 | 5–4 | 16 – Pickett | 6 – Ma. Smith, D. Smith | 3 – D. Smith, Pinson | Liacouras Center (6,405) Philadelphia, PA |
| December 15, 2019* 3:00 pm, SECN | | Southern Illinois | W 64–48 | 6–4 | 23 – Ma. Smith | 8 – D. Smith | 3 – Pinson | Mizzou Arena (8,216) Columbia, MO |
| December 21, 2019* 12:00 pm, SECN | | vs. Illinois Braggin' Rights | W 63–56 | 7–4 | 19 – D. Smith | 6 – Mi. Smith, Pickett | 4 – D. Smith | Enterprise Center (15,259) St. Louis, MO |
| December 30, 2019* 7:00 pm, SECN+ | | Chicago State | W 91–33 | 8–4 | 24 – Watson | 6 – Brown | 7 – Smith | Mizzou Arena (9,359) Columbia, MO |
| January 4, 2020 1:00 pm, SECN | | at No. 17 Kentucky | L 59–71 | 8–5 (0–1) | 11 – D. Smith | 3 – Tied | 2 – Tied | Rupp Arena (20,396) Lexington, KY |
| January 7, 2020 6:00 pm, SECN | | Tennessee | L 59–69 | 8–6 (0–2) | 11 – Jackson | 7 – Mi. Smith | 4 – Tied | Mizzou Arena (8,663) Columbia, MO |
| January 11, 2020 7:30 pm, SECN | | Florida | W 91–75 | 9–6 (1–2) | 22 – D. Smith | 6 – Ma. Smith | 6 – D. Smith | Mizzou Arena (9,001) Columbia, MO |
| January 14, 2020 8:00 pm, SECN | | at Mississippi State | L 45–72 | 9–7 (1–3) | 14 – Brown | 4 – Tied | 3 – Tied | Humphrey Coliseum (5,904) Starkville, MS |
| January 18, 2020 2:30 pm, SECN | | at Alabama | L 74–88 | 9–8 (1–4) | 18 – D. Smith | 6 – Tied | 2 – Tied | Coleman Coliseum (10,950) Tuscaloosa, AL |
| January 21, 2020 8:00 pm, ESPNU | | Texas A&M | L 64–66 | 9–9 (1–5) | 19 – Ma. Smith | 11 – Mi. Smith | 8 – D. Smith | Mizzou Arena (8,529) Columbia, MO |
| January 25, 2020* 11:00 am, ESPN | | at No. 14 West Virginia Big 12/SEC Challenge | L 51–74 | 9–10 | 19 – Watson | 5 – Tied | 2 – Tied | WVU Coliseum (14,031) Morgantown, WV |
| January 28, 2020 7:30 pm, SECN | | Georgia | W 72–69 | 10–10 (2–5) | 16 – Tied | 7 – Mi. Smith | 3 – Tied | Mizzou Arena (8,451) Columbia, MO |
| February 1, 2020 2:30 pm, SECN | | at South Carolina | L 54–76 | 10–11 (2–6) | 12 – Pinson | 8 – Pickett | 3 – D. Smith | Colonial Life Arena (14,678) Columbia, SC |
| February 4, 2020 8:00 pm, SECN | | at Texas A&M | L 51–68 | 10–12 (2–7) | 9 – Mi. Smith | 11 – Mi. Smith | 7 – D. Smith | Reed Arena (5,755) College Station, TX |
| February 8, 2020 2:30 pm, SECN | | Arkansas | W 83–79 $^{OT}$ | 11–12 (3–7) | 24 – Pinson | 11 – Tied | 3 – Pinson | Mizzou Arena (11,439) Columbia, SC |
| February 11, 2020 8:00 pm, SECN | | at No. 25 LSU | L 78–82 | 11–13 (13–8) | 20 – D. Smith | 8 – Nikko | 7 – Pinson | Pete Maravich Assembly Center (10,990) Baton Rouge, LA |
| February 15, 2020 5:00 pm, ESPN2 | | No. 11 Auburn | W 85–73 | 12–13 (4–8) | 28 – Tied | 9 – Brown | 5 – Pinson | Mizzou Arena (12,506) Columbia, MO |
| February 18, 2020 7:30 pm, SECN | | Ole Miss | W 71–68 | 13–13 (5–8) | 32 – Pinson | 7 – Braun | 4 – D. Smith | Mizzou Arena (8,677) Columbia, MO |
| February 22, 2020 12:00 pm, SECN | | at Arkansas | L 68–78 | 13–14 (5–9) | 17 – Brown | 10 – Brown | 7 – Pinson | Bud Walton Arena (19,200) Fayetteville, AR |
| February 26, 2020 8:00 pm, ESPNU | | at Vanderbilt | W 61–52 | 14–14 (6–9) | 17 – Pinson | 12 – Mi. Smith | 3 – D. Smith | Memorial Gymnasium (8,497) Nashville, TN |
| February 29, 2020 2:30 pm, SECN | | Mississippi State | L 63–67 | 14–15 (6–10) | 20 – Pinson | 9 – D. Smith | 2 – Tied | Mizzou Arena (10,397) Columbia, MO |
| March 4, 2020 8:00 pm, SECN | | at Ole Miss | L 67-75 | 14-16 (6-11) | 16 – Pinson | 7 – Tilmon | 5 – Pinson | The Pavilion at Ole Miss (6,887) Oxford, MS |
| March 7, 2020 1:30 pm, SECN | | Alabama | W 69-50 | 15-16 (7-11) | 17 – D. Smith | 9 – Tilmon | 8 – D. Smith | Mizzou Arena (10,047) Columbia, MO |
| SEC tournament |||||||||
| March 12, 2020 6:00 pm, SECN | (10) | vs. (7) Texas A&M Second round | Cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic | Cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic | Cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic | Cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic | Cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic | Bridgestone Arena Nashville, TN |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Central Time. |||||||||

## Rankings

Ranking movements Legend: ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking — = Not ranked RV = Received votes :
| | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week |
| Poll | Pre | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | Final |
| AP | RV | RV | RV | RV | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | Not released |
| Coaches | — | — | RV | — | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
*AP does not release post-NCAA Tournament rankings