Unbeaten through its first five games, Missouri will aim to continue its momentum when it hosts Coastal Carolina on Wednesday night at Columbia, Mo.
Offensively, the Tigers (5-0) have been on a roll with an average of 91.8 points per game while shooting 51.7 percent from the field. They are averaging 10 made 3-pointers per game as well, matching their average in an 83-62 win over Mississippi Valley State on Sunday.
Team chemistry has been lauded for playing a big part in the early-season success for the Tigers. They will put that togetherness to the test against the Chanticleers (2-1}, who enter off a 79-78 loss to South Carolina-Upstate on Friday.
“Honestly, I’m thankful for calling this group of guys my brothers,” veteran Missouri guard D’Moi Hodge said. “Like knowing that we all came from different places at different agendas and have different backgrounds, and we all have one main goal. I was coming for everybody accepting one main goal here and just accepting me and all my teammates.”
Hodge is Missouri’s leading scorer, with 17 points per outing. He’s buried 14 3-pointers and has benefited from the team sharing the basketball. Six players have double-digit assists totals, including Nick Hodge, who has averaged four per game. The Tigers have just 64 turnovers in their five games while forcing 104.
“If we had a negative assist-turnover ratio, that would be a concern,” Missouri coach Dennis Gates said. “But we’ve got that category going in the right direction.”
Coastal Carolina will try to get headed in the right direction after Friday’s defeat. The Chanticleers fell despite a career-high 28 points from Jomaru Brown and a double-double of 17 points and 16 rebounds from Essam Mostafa.
Brown leads the Chanticleers in scoring at 21.7 points per outing. Mostafa averages 16.3 points and 13.3 rebounds per game.
–Field Level Media
