2 Tigers suspended

Senior Michael Dixon has been suspended by Missouri Basketball Head Coach Frank Haith for at least one game. Dixon has been suspended for breaking team policies and has not practiced with the team for the last week. Dixon's reason for suspension as been rumored to be his academics and has been focusing on that instead of practicing with the team. Dominique Bull also got suspended by Haith. Bull is a Freshmen guard at Missouri and his reason for suspension is unknown and he will also be sitting out at least one game.

Tigers Ranked 15th

The AP top 25 poll came out yesterday and they have ranked the Tigers 15th in the nation and have been predicted to finish 3rd in the SEC. The Tigers are ranked behind two fellow SEC members Kentucky #3 and Florida #10.

http://espn.go.com/mens-college-basketball/rankings

Mizzou Baseball

Mizzou baseball is fresh off their Big 12 Tournament win and is jumping into the SEC. The tigers have received a lot of criticism about not being able to compete with the power houses of the SEC but have showed a glimmer of hope with the #24 recruiting according to Baseball America. With the #24 recruiting class the tigers are just 12th in the SEC that just shows just how competitive the SEC is in Baseball.
http://www.baseballamerica.com/today/college/recruiting/2012/2614242.html

Mizzou: Top Backcourt in the Nation

Missouri's backcourt has been named the number one backcourt in the nation according to nbcsports.com. The tigers backcourt two major contributors are Phil Pressey and Michael Dixon but there are also other players that were recognized in this terrific backcourt. Keion Bell, Earnest Ross, Negus Webster-Chan, Dominique Bull, and Jabari Brown all will have major contributions to the backcourts success along with Pressey and Dixon. Pressey has already ben nominated the Pre-season Player of the Year for the SEC.
http://collegebasketballtalk.nbcsports.com/2012/10/24/2012-13-preview-top-15-backcourts/

Travis Jorgensen a Missouri Basketball recruit has de-comitted from the Tigers and his reopening his recruitment. Jorgensen is a former Rock Bridge point guard that is a 3-star point guard according to rivals.com. Jorgensen is a 6 foot 160 pound point guard that is still a Mizzou target and could still land with the Tigers when its all said and done. Point guard is not a position of need because the Tigers still have a 4-star point guard in Wesley Clark.

This years basketball team is full of new faces. Many call Missouri transfer U because they have received so many transfers. The key transfers this year will be Alex Oriakhi which transfered from Connecticut  because of the NCAA sanctions prohibiting the huskies from going to the postseason. So like normal transfers Oriakhi will not have to sit out a year like normal transfers. Oriakhi is a 6-9 255 pound Senior center that will be in the starting line up for the Tigers this season.

Keion Bell, who is pictured, is a transfer from Pepperdine and will probably see most of his playing time off the bench. Bell is a 6-4 200 pound  Senior guard with insane athleticism. Bell is known for his high flying dunks and his breakout perforemence for 30 point against Gonzaga. In the picture above Bell is jumping over 6 people in the dunk contest in Mizzou Madness this year.

Earnest Ross is another promising transfer for the Tigers that transferred from Auburn. Ross lead Auburn in scoring and rebounding his sophomore year. Ross is 6-5 222 guard that will be in the starting line up. Ross has already played 2 seasons in the SEC and he is back and will provide the tigers  some spark having already played most of the SEC teams.

Jabari Brown is a transfer from Oregon that only played 2 games before deciding to transfer to Missouri. Brown is a former 5 star recruit out of high school that is known for his 3 point shot. Brown will be eligible to play after the 1 semester is over. Brown is 6-5 205 pound Junior guard who will be coming off the bench this year.

Tony Criswell is the last transfer who transferred from Independence C.C. in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. Criswell is a 6-9 226 pound Junior center who will a key big man along side Alex Oriakhi and will come off the bench. The Missouri coaches have said he is the biggest surprise so far.

Then there is Phil Pressey and Michael Dixon who we all know about and are the only two players that have played minutes in a game with Frank Haith. Pressey is a 5-11 175 pound Junior point guard that is the second best guard in the country according to CBSsports.com. Michael Dixon who was the Big 12 6th Man of the Year last year is a 6-1 190 pound Senior Guard who will start alongside Pressey. Don't forget about Laurence Bowers who would have played last year but his Senior season was derailed by a torn ACL and had to sit out all of last year and will be the fifth starter fro the Tigers.

These are the guys who will see most of the minutes this year but here are some other players who will get time as well. Freshman Negus Webster-Chan, Freshman Ryan Rosburg, and Freshman big man Stephan Jankovic.

The Tigers are ranked 17th in the pre-season rankings and are projected to finish 3rd in the SEC behind the 2 powerhouse schools Kentucky and Florida.