Tigers gaining national traction

The Big 12 released its 2010 conference basketball schedule today, and Mike Anderson’s Missouri Tigers will be reaping the benefits of last year’s successful season.

The reigning Big 12 tournament champs will play in a school-record nine nationally televised games, although as usual, the only Big Monday game is against the mighty Kansas Jayhawks. Missouri may be in the national conversation a little more, but it’s hard to believe expectations for the Tigers will be great, considering they lost 40 points and 16 rebounds per night with seniors DeMarre Carroll, Leo Lyons and Matt Lawrence.

That could be good for a team who seems to do better when it has something to prove.

Another obstacle the Tigers will confront in their quest for national prominence is lack of star power—unless someone like Kim English or J.T. Tiller can take their game to another level. At this point, the team’s biggest star is probably Anderson, and it’s likely to remain that way.

That’s not because he’s a guy who craves the spotlight. In fact, the truth would be closer to the opposite. But Anderson’s system requires an above-average number of solid contributors, and it’s unlikely anyone will even reach 30 minutes per game.

As a result, star recruits with dreams of putting up huge numbers probably won’t come to Missouri. Even if an unselfish blue chip recruit winds up in Columbia, it will be tougher for him to get the stats to draw people’s attention.

DeMarre Carroll's incredible assault on NBA draft boards from when he left Mizzou up to draft day is the perfect example of how Anderson’s system can hide top talent. Fortunately for the Tigers, Anderson’s system works, and the fans don’t seem concerned about not having a national star—as long as the team is winning.

Now, the media is starting to catch on as well.

Missouri’s conference schedule is below. Their non-conference schedule will be released at a later date.

Day                    Date                    Opponent               Location                   Time             TV
Saturday           January 9          Kansas State          Columbia, Mo.         1 p.m.           ESPN2
Wednesday      January 13        at Texas Tech         Lubbock, Texas       8 p.m.           ESPNU
Saturday           January 16        at Oklahoma          Norman, Okla.