COLUMBIA, MO. • Already undermanned without starting guard Mark Smith, Missouri was down another starter Saturday when center Jeremiah Tilmon missed his first college game thanks to emergency wisdom teeth extraction.
The team that lost its star players each of the last two seasons — Michael Porter Jr. and his balky back last year and Jontay Porter and his knee last fall — was down to eight scholarship players to open the second half of conference play.
Fortunately for the Tigers, Tilmon’s absence coincided with a visit from Texas A&M, a team that’s been hurtling toward the bottom of the league standings for weeks.