Missouri hosts Evansville on Nov. 24 in a nonconference game. The Purple Aces went 7-25 last season and return leading scorer AJ Casey, who averaged 13.9 points per game. Casey is their only senior, and six of the 14 roster players are freshmen.
Coach David Ragland is entering his fifth season after Evansville recorded 5, 17, 11 and 7 wins in his first four years; his listed record is 40-91. Returning guard Bryce Quintet started 19 games and averaged 8.7 points last season. Transfer Gustav Winther started 21 games for Northern Illinois and averaged 8 points per game.
Missouri leads the series 2-0; the teams’ most recent meeting ended in a 73-54 Tigers win, moving Missouri to 9-0 that season. Evansville won five Division II national titles between 1959 and 1971 and has not reached the NCAA Tournament since 1999. BartTorvik.com ranks the Purple Aces 272nd, higher than last season.
