Missouri men’s basketball returns to action Tuesday night with a non-conference matchup against Central Michigan. Only two players are back from last season’s roster: senior guard Javon Pickett and junior forward Kobe Brown. 

With so many roster changes, Missouri needs to improve in several areas  to compete in the SEC. Here are three that come to mind.

Defense

Missouri head coach Cuonzo Martin is quick to emphasize defense in post-game press conferences, and it’s what his teams are usually known for. 

Martin’s half-court, man-to-man defense has given opponents problems over the years. Last season, however, the Tigers struggled defensively as the season went on. Missouri’s opponents averaged 72 points per game, and the Tigers allowed Georgia to score 80 points –– among the bottom of the SEC  — and 86 to LSU. If the Tigers hope to compete in the SEC, those types of performances have to be an anomaly.

Turnovers

Turnovers proved costly for Missouri last year. The Tigers gave the ball away an average of 13 times per game, and even with an entirely new team, taking care of the ball could make the difference between a win or loss. For example, in Missouri’s loss against Tennessee last year, they turned the ball over 21 times.

Free throws

The Tigers made just 70% of their free throws last season, which ranked them No. 11 in the SEC free throws. The 30% they missed totaled 389 free throws, which proved costly in some games, such as their 82-88 loss to Auburn in which they shot 66.7% from the free throw line.

Edited by Kyle Pinnell | kpinnell@themaneater.com