Visiting with old friends.
Missouri announced their entire schedule on Tuesday August 20th. And if you’ve read this blog in the past, you know SEC previews are coming, but first we wanted to spend a little time looking at the non-conference slate, so here is the announced non-conference schedule:
- Nov 4 – Road at Memphis
- Nov 8 – Home vs Howard
- Nov 11 – Home vs Eastern Washington
- Nov 14 – Home vs. Miss. Valley State
- Nov 22 – Home vs Pacific
- Nov 24 – Home vs Arkansas Pine Bluff
- Nov 27 – Home vs Lindenwood
- Dec 3 – Home vs Cal (ACC-SEC Challenge)
- Dec 8 – Home vs Kansas (or kansas, if you prefer)
- Dec 14 – Home vs LIU
- Dec 22 – Neutral vs. Illinois
- Dec 30 – Home vs Alabama State
In the past I’ve gone a bit deeper on these previews than I will here. Think of this series more of a quick-cap than a full-on preview. As the season nears, we’ll have deeper previews, and it’s also easier to preview a team when some games have been played.
With Memphis, Howard, Eastern Washington, Mississippi Valley State, and Pacific behind us, let’s take a quick look at Arkansas Pine Bluff.
Arkansas Pine Bluff
Yes, it was just last year when last these two teams met. Maybe you remember opening day last season, Missouri won by 22. Joe French scored 30 points, and Kylen Milton poured in 34 in a herculean effort to keep the score as respectable as it was. Mizzou was actually up by 30 but allowed Pine Bluff to crawl back in.
Now the Golden Lions are back for more.
Head Coach | Solomon Bozeman | 4th Season 30-63
David Butler II-USA TODAY Sports
Ah, the life of a SWAC coach. Travel the country, get your brains beat in, hope it doesn’t kill the vibe of your team to the point you can’t compete in conference play. From that aspect, Arkansas-Pine Bluff has improved each season. Bozeman has steered them to 5, then 6, and last year 8 conference wins.
So, I guess you could say he’s doing a good job. Bozeman is young and an Arkansas native, and Pine Bluff has been known for being patient. They understand the pitfalls of the job.
Particularly now where the transfer portal can sweep away your best players in a heartbeat.
What about the team now?
The thing that kept UAPB close-ish last season was the presence of Joe French and Kyren Milton. Both are gone, French for a professional career and Milton to Murray State. Gone off the roster are a combined 144 starts from 6 different players and over 2200 points from a total of 8 players. The only returners are Robert Lewis, Jyre McCloud, Zach Reinhart, and Deuce Wallace who combined for 11 starts and just 290 points.
Probably the biggest addition this offseason came when Bozeman brought in transfer forward Quentin Bolton from Western Carolina. At WCU Bolton averaged almost 8 points and 4 rebounds as a jumbo wing. He’ll be a junior and likely will take on a focused role with the team in need of some scoring punch.
Bozeman also added a few other transfers:
- Kleman Vuga, from Monmouth – 6’9 forward from Slovenia
- Christian Moore, from North Texas – point guard from Arkansas
- Matthew Spears, from LeMoyne Owen (D2) – 6’9 forward from Indiana
- Dennis Asoro, from Hocking CC in Ohio – 6’8 forward from Ohio
Plus, a couple high school signings. If I’ve got my info right, it’s Caleb Jones from Suwanee, Ga. and Chop Paljor from Elkhorn, Neb.
BartTorvik.com projects Bolton, McCloud and Moore to lead the team in scoring and for the Golden Lions to land 360th in the country. Or third from last. Missouri is a projected 28.8-point favorite.