COLUMBIA, Mo. — Around the Missouri men’s basketball team, there’s nobody who takes for granted what Jeremiah Tilmon means to the team’s success this season. If there’s one factor that could separate the Tigers from a trip to the NCAA Tournament and another March spent at home, it’s the big man in the middle.

LOADING…

As the Tigers embark on their 114th campaign with Tuesday’s 7 p.m. season-opening tipoff at home against Incarnate Word, Cuonzo Martin’s team features one of college basketball’s endangered species in the junior from East St. Louis: a 6-foot-10 center who’s also a veteran of the college game.