Game by Game predictions -- this schedule is a creampuff

Posted on: September 7, 2016 at 11:00:36 CT

After looking at it game by game, I think we have a shot to be somewhat decent this year. The SEC is horrible. It got worse by a little, and we got better.

11/13 Alabama A&M W (1-0) -- a gimme to start the season.

11/17 Xavier L (1-1) -- Xavier will be a top ten team this year. If we can make them work for the W, that'll be encouraging, but it's highly unlikely we win this game.

11/18 Clemson or Davidson W (2-1) -- Of course, we don't know who we'll play yet, but I think both are beatable. I'll mark it as a W.

11/19 Unknown W (3-1) -- Just because. 2-1 would be a great run in the Puerto Rico Tipoff.

11/26 Northwestern State W (4-1) -- An easy win against a team who ranked #328 in KenPom last year.

11/28 North Carolina Central W (5-1) -- #296 last year. Easy win.

12/3 Western Kentucky W (6-1) -- a program on the rise under Rick Stansbury, to be sure. If we went to their house, we might not win, but I give us the edge in Mizzou Arena.

12/6 Miami (OH) W (7-1) -- home game against a MAC doormat.

12/10 Arizona L (7-2) -- If we go into this game 7-1 with some confidence, I think we give them a run for their money in our own arena. In the end, though, the talent gap will be too much.

12/17 Eastern Illinois W (8-2) -- Easy win against a lower level OVC team.

12/21 Illinois L (8-3) -- I actually think this is a tossup. Definitely a winnable game, but I give a slight edge to the Illini.

12/29 Lipscomb W (9-3) -- one last tuneup before conference play. 9-3 is a good way to start the season, and I think we could be 10-2 if we can beat Illinois.

1/4 LSU W (10-3, 1-0) -- We have the edge at home. Never underestimate just how horrible a coach Johnny Jones is.

1/7 @ Georgia L (10-4, 1-1) -- Our first true road game of the season. Georgia will win.

1/10 Auburn W (11-4, 2-1) -- In our fifteenth game of the season, we will eclipse last year's win total.

1/14 @ Arkansas L (11-5, 2-2) Tough to win at Bud Walton. Arky has the potential to be pretty good this year, too.

1/18 @ Alabama W (12-5, 3-2) Our first road win. If we're focused and working hard, Alabama is beatable.

1/21 Ole Miss W (13-5, 4-2) Ole Miss should be fairly weak this year. We win at home.

1/25 @ Mississippi State L (13-6, 4-3) MSU holds serve at home.

1/28 South Carolina W (14-6, 5-3) uSC can't hang as Mizzou Arena begins to get livelier than it has been in a few years.

2/2 @ Florida L (14-7, 5-4) Florida is on the rise. Should be back in the tournament this year.

2/4 Arkansas W (15-7, 6-4) I do think Arkansas is potential tournament team this year, but you know how Mike Anderson teams fare on the road. Probably a winnable game.

2/8 @ Texas A&M L (15-8, 6-5) A&M loses some pieces, but should still be pretty good. Likely a bubble team or better.

2/11 Vanderbilt W (16-8, 7-5) Vandy is on the mat. We should win this at home.

2/15 Alabama W (17-8, 8-5) Complete the sweep. Rumblings of us being on the bubble, but not quite having a good enough resume begin (though they will quickly be silenced)

2/18 @ Tennessee L (17-9, 8-6) Barnes has UT trending in the right direction. UT wins.

2/21 Kentucky L (17-10, 8-7) UK is UK.

2/25 @ Ole Miss L (17-11, 8-8) Ole Miss wins at home.

2/28 Texas A&M L (17-12, 8-9) we go underwater in the SEC for the first time all year in late February? I think you have to consider that a success.

3/4 @ Auburn L (17-13, 8-10) Pearl holds serve at home, and we drop five in a row to finish the season. We should be roughly evenly matched, but Auburn gets the nod on their home court.

So, there it is. I think we're 17-13/8-10. Say we go 1-1 in the SEC tournament for 18-14, then get a postseason invite. Even if we lose that and go 18-15, Kim comes back. We ride the bubble in 2017-18 and maybe even squeak in the tournament in TP/Puryear's junior year. As seniors, they should be a tournament lock.

Edited by HissingPrigs77 at 11:12:31 on 09/07/16