COLUMBIA, MO. • Since he arrived at Missouri last year Cuonzo Martin has preached to his basketball players they ignore the name across their opponents’ chests, demanding they give Kennesaw State the same respect they would show Kentucky. Under Martin, the Tigers have passed nearly every test against teams outside of the six major conferences, going 13-1, the lone loss coming last month against Temple, hardly a pushover from the American Athletic Conference.
That said, with two games against high-major teams this week, there’s more to gain and more for Martin to learn about his Tigers.