Whoever coined the phrase “age before beauty” couldn’t have known how relevant it would be to the 2020 college basketball season.
As droves of coaches around the country grumble about the lack of chemistry plaguing their freshman- and newcomer-laden teams, a byproduct of the COVID-19 pandemic limiting summer training and general team-building practices, veteran squads like Missouri are flourishing.
“We’re just older and more experienced more than anything,” Missouri junior point guard Xavier Pinson says. “That brings the chemistry and it’s up from there.”
That much is evident in Missouri’s 5–0 start, which included a top-10 win over Illinois and has earned the Tigers an appearance in the men's AP Top 25 for the first time since 2014.