COLUMBIA, MO. • Cuonzo Martin’s Missouri basketball team is still learning how to play without Jontay Porter, the preseason All-SEC sophomore whose season-ending knee injury spun Mizzou’s team off its orbit two weeks before the start of the season.
A mildly surprising scoring option surfaced during the team’s recent week in the Virgin Islands. Senior point guard Jordan Geist fought off a sore back and gave the Tigers (3-2) some of the best stretches of his career during the three-game stay in St. Thomas. After making the clutch play of MU’s opening-round win over Kennesaw State, Geist scored 21 and 24 points against Oregon State and Kansas State, doing most of his damage at the free throw line.