COLUMBIA, Mo. — The 114th season of Mizzou basketball didn’t exactly tip off with a highly anticipated showdown Wednesday on Norm Stewart Court. Incarnate Word, a Southland Conference team from San Antonio coming off a six-win season — no, not the St. Louis girls high school on Normandy Drive — should rival Chicago State as the most overmatched team on the Tigers’ schedule this year.
But for the 8,185 curious enough to find a seat at Mizzou Arena, they were treated to a promising debut for Cuonzo Martin’s Tigers, an 82-42 victory to open the season.
With the deepest bench and most versatile collection of athletes of his three Mizzou teams, Martin substituted at will before the first media timeout, throwing waves of fresh bodies at the Cardinals all night.