COLUMBIA, Mo. — In a sign that the external reputation of Missouri men’s basketball remains rather tarnished by last season’s winless run through conference play, the Tigers were picked to finish 13th out of 16 teams in the Southeastern Conference during the upcoming 2023-2024 college hoops season.
The media poll results are the harshest preseason prediction that coach Dennis Gates has received as he enters his third year at the helm. Last season, Mizzou was predicted to finish ninth and ahead of Gates’ debut season, media tabbed the Tigers for 11th — though there were only 14 teams in the conference for both of those campaigns.