# 2018–19 Missouri Tigers men's basketball team

The 2018–19 Missouri Tigers men's basketball team represented the University of Missouri in the 2018–19 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. They were led by head coach Cuonzo Martin in his second year at Missouri. The team played its home games at Mizzou Arena in Columbia, Missouri as seventh-year members of the Southeastern Conference. They finished the season 15–17 overall, 5–13 in the SEC to finish in 12th place.

## Previous season

The Tigers finished the 2017–18 season 20–13, 10–8 in SEC play to finish in a tie for fourth place. As the No. 5 seed in the SEC tournament, they lost to the Georgia Bulldogs in the second round. The Tigers received an at-large bid to the NCAA tournament as the No. 8 seed in the West region. The Tigers lost in the First Round to Florida State.

## Offseason

On March 26, 2018, Michael Porter Jr. announced he would declare for the 2018 NBA draft and would forgo his final years of eligibility by signing with an agent. On April 5, his younger brother Jontay Porter also declared for the NBA draft, but did not sign with an agent. Shortly before the deadline to withdraw from the draft, the younger Porter did so and will return for his sophomore year.

### Departures

| Name | Number | Pos. | Height | Weight | Year | Hometown | Notes |
| Michael Porter Jr. | 13 | F | 6'10" | 215 | Freshman | Columbia, MO | Declared for 2018 NBA draft |
| Kassius Robertson | 3 | G | 6'3" | 180 | RS-Senior | Toronto, ON | Graduated |
| Jordan Barnett | 21 | F | 6'7" | 215 | Senior | St. Louis, MO | Graduated |
| Brett Rau | 10 | G | 6'4" | 175 | Senior | Burlington, IL | Graduated |
| C. J. Roberts | 0 | G | 6'0" | 180 | Freshman | North Richland Hills, TX | Transferred to Broward College |
| Terrence Phillips | 1 | G | 5'11" | 185 | Junior | Orange County, CA | Left team |
| Blake Harris | 55 | G | 6'3" | 195 | Freshman | Chapel Hill, NC | Transferred to NC State |

### Incoming transfers

| Name | Number | Pos. | Height | Weight | Year | Hometown | Previous School |
| Mark Smith | 13 | G | 6'4" | 220 | Freshman | Edwardsville, IL | Illinois |
| Dru Smith | 12 | G | 6'3" | 200 | Sophomore | Evansville, IN | Evansville |
| K. J. Santos | 2 | F | 6'8" | 220 | Sophomore | Geneva, IL | Tallahassee Community College. |
| Ronnie Suggs | 3 | G | 6'6" | 190 | Junior | Washington, MO | Bradley University. |

### 2018 recruiting class

US college sports recruiting information for high school athletes :
| Name | Hometown | High school / college | Height | Weight | Commit date |
| Torrence Watson SG | St. Louis, MO | Whitfield School | 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) | 175 lb (79 kg) | Aug 9, 2017 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: ESPN grade: 84 ||||||
| Xavier Pinson PG | Chicago, IL | Simeon Career Academy | 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) | 170 lb (77 kg) | Feb 5, 2018 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: N/A ESPN grade: N/A ||||||
| Parker Braun PF | | Blue Valley Northwest | 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) | 205 lb (93 kg) | May 31, 2018 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: N/A ESPN grade: N/A ||||||
| 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: ||||||

## Schedule and results

| Date time, TV | Rank$^#$ | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | High points | High rebounds | High assists | Site (attendance) city, state |
| Non-conference regular season |||||||||
| November 6, 2018* 7:00 pm, SECN+ | | Central Arkansas | W 68–55 | 1–0 | 19 – Ma. Smith | 10 – Tied | 4 – Pinson | Mizzou Arena (9,436) Columbia, MO |
| November 10, 2018* 6:00 pm | | at Iowa State | L 59–76 | 1–1 | 15 – Ma. Smith | 7 – Tied | 5 – Geist | Hilton Coliseum (14,384) Ames, IA |
| November 16, 2018* 2:00 pm, FloSports | | vs. Kennesaw State Paradise Jam Quarterfinals | W 55–52 | 2–1 | 17 – Puryear | 9 – Tilmon | 3 – Pickett | Sports and Fitness Center (522) St. Thomas VI |
| November 18, 2018* 4:30 pm, FloSports | | vs. Oregon State Paradise Jam Semifinals | W 69–63 | 3–1 | 18 – Geist | 8 – Puryear | 6 – Ma. Smith | Sports and Fitness Center St. Thomas VI |
| November 19, 2018* 6:30 pm, FloSports | | vs. No. 12 Kansas State Paradise Jam championship game | L 67–82 | 3–2 | 24 – Geist | 4 – Tied | 4 – Ma. Smith | Sports and Fitness Center (2,274) St. Thomas, VI |
| November 27, 2018* 8:00 pm, SECN | | Temple | L 77–79 | 3–3 | 19 – Ma. Smith | 10 – Tilmon | 3 – Geist | Mizzou Arena (9,971) Columbia, MO |
| December 2, 2018* 2:00 pm, ESPNU | | UCF | W 64–62 $^{OT}$ | 4–3 | 18 – Geist | 7 – Mi. Smith | 3 – Pickett | Mizzou Arena (10,067) Columbia, MO |
| December 4, 2018* 7:00 pm, SECN+ | | Texas–Arlington | W 65–45 | 5–3 | 12 – Watson | 12 – Tilmon | 3 – Geist | Mizzou Arena (9,428) Columbia, MO |
| December 7, 2018* 6:00 pm, SECN | | Oral Roberts | W 80–64 | 6–3 | 14 – Ma. Smith | 6 – Tilmon | 4 – Pinson | Mizzou Arena (9,813) Columbia, MO |
| December 18, 2018* 6:00 pm, ESPNU | | Xavier | W 71–56 | 7–3 | 23 – Tilmon | 9 – Tilmon | 5 – Pinson | Mizzou Arena (9,785) Columbia, MO |
| December 22, 2018* 7:00 pm, BTN | | vs. Illinois Braggin' Rights | W 79–63 | 8–3 | 20 – Geist | 12 – Tilmon | 7 – Geist | Enterprise Center (16,397) St. Louis, MO |
| December 29, 2018* 1:00 pm, SECN+ | | Morehead State | W 75–61 | 9–3 | 22 – Ma. Smith | 8 – Puryear | 3 – Tied | Mizzou Arena (11,458) Columbia, MO |
| SEC regular season |||||||||
| January 8, 2019 6:00 pm, ESPN2 | | No. 3 Tennessee | L 63–87 | 9–4 (0–1) | 14 – Pinson | 5 – Tied | 5 – Geist | Mizzou Arena (10,165) Columbia, MO |
| January 13, 2019 12:00 pm, SECN+ | | at South Carolina | L 75–85 | 9–5 (0–2) | 21 – Pickett | 6 – Watson | 5 – Geist | Colonial Life Arena (12,747) Columbia, SC |
| January 16, 2019 8:00 pm, SECN | | Alabama | L 60–70 | 9–6 (0–3) | 13 – Tied | 8 – Smith | 3 – Tied | Mizzou Arena (8,530) Columbia, MO |
| January 19, 2019 2:30 pm, SECN | | at Texas A&M | W 66–43 | 10–6 (1–3) | 17 – Geist | 10 – Puryear | 5 – Geist | Reed Arena (6,396) College Station, TX |
| January 23, 2019 8:00 pm, SECN | | at Arkansas | L 60–72 | 10–7 (1–4) | 22 – Smith | 7 – Smith | 4 – Geist | Bud Walton Arena (13,881) Fayetteville, AR |
| January 26, 2019 5:00 pm, SECN | | No. 25 LSU | L 80–86 $^{OT}$ | 10–8 (1–5) | 25 – Geist | 11 – Geist | 2 – Tied | Mizzou Arena (11,513) Columbia, MO |
| January 30, 2019 7:30 pm, SECN | | at Auburn | L 58–92 | 10–9 (1–6) | 15 – Tilmon | 9 – Geist | 4 – Pinson | Auburn Arena (7,213) Auburn, AL |
| February 2, 2019 7:30 pm, SECN | | Vanderbilt | W 77–67 | 11–9 (2–6) | 19 – Tilmon | 10 – Puryear | 6 – Geist | Mizzou Arena (11,091) Columbia, MO |
| February 5, 2019 8:00 pm, ESPN2 | | at No. 1 Tennessee | L 60–72 | 11–10 (2–7) | 12 – Pickett | 8 – Pinson | 5 – Geist | Thompson–Boling Arena (17,264) Knoxville, TN |
| February 9, 2019 5:00 pm, SECN | | Texas A&M | L 59–68 | 11–11 (2–8) | 15 – Pickett | 7 – Puryear | 6 – Pinson | Mizzou Arena (11,171) Columbia, MO |
| February 12, 2019 8:00 pm, ESPNU | | Arkansas | W 79–78 | 12–11 (3–8) | 21 – Tilmon | 9 – Pinson | 4 – Puryear | Mizzou Arena (9,489) Columbia, MO |
| February 16, 2019 2:30 pm, SECN | | at Ole Miss | L 65–75 | 12–12 (3–9) | 23 – Geist | 9 – Pinson | 3 – Pickett | The Pavilion at Ole Miss (8,248) Oxford, MS |
| February 19, 2019 8:00 pm, ESPN | | No. 4 Kentucky | L 58–66 | 12–13 (3–10) | 13 – Suggs | 7 – Tilmonn | 4 – Geist | Mizzou Arena (10,703) Columbia, MO |
| February 23, 2019 3:00 pm, ESPNU | | at Florida | L 60–64 | 12–14 (3–11) | 16 – Geist | 6 – 2 tied | 3 – Pinson | Exactech Arena (10,450) Gainesville, FL |
| February 26, 2019 6:00 pm, SECN | | at Mississippi State | L 49–68 | 12–15 (3–12) | 12 – Watson | 7 – Pickett | 2 – 2 tied | Humphrey Coliseum (7,058) Starkville, MS |
| March 2, 2019 2:30 pm, SECN | | South Carolina | W 78–63 | 13–15 (4–12) | 20 – Watson | 8 – Tilmon | 3 – 3 tied | Mizzou Arena (10,376) Columbia, MO |
| March 6, 2019 5:30 pm, SECN | | at Georgia | W 64–39 | 14–15 (5–12) | 18 – Geist | 11 – M. Smith | 6 – Geist | Stegeman Coliseum Athens, GA |
| March 9, 2019 2:30 pm, SECN | | Ole Miss | L 68–73 | 14–16 (5–13) | 20 – Pinson | 7 – Tilmon | 6 – Pinson | Mizzou Arena Columbia, MO |
| SEC Tournament |||||||||
| March 13, 2019 6:00 pm, SECN | (12) | vs. (13) Georgia First Round | W 71-61 | 15-16 | 30 – Geist | 7 – Puryear | 1 – 4 tied | Bridgestone Arena Nashville, TN |
| March 14, 2019 2:30 pm, SECN | (12) | vs. (5) No. 22 Auburn Second Round | L 71–81 | 15–17 | 25 – Geist | 5 – Tilmon | 5 – Pinson | Bridgestone Arena Nashville, TN |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Central Time. |||||||||