Sunday afternoon’s game against Missouri serves as an early test for WSU in the second game of the season. If WSU can get the victory, it could serve as an important win on the Shockers’ resume later on in the season.

Missouri has already solidified itself as one of the top teams in the country after beating No. 21 Oregon on Wednesday, 83-75. The Tigers also feature one of the most experienced rosters in the country, including eight upperclassmen and five seniors. 

All of the metrics point to a Missouri win, with KenPom giving the Tigers a 65% shot at victory inside Charles Koch Arena and ESPN’s Basketball Power Index giving WSU a 61.8% chance.

If the Shockers want to pick up a big non-conference victory on Sunday inside Charles Koch Arena, here are three keys to doing so:

Continued Three-Point Success

In the Shockers’ season-opening victory against Oral Roberts, a big key to the win was the success from beyond the arc. For the game, WSU went 9-22 (40.9%) from deep with four of the three-pointers coming from sophomore guard Tyson Etienne.

In the Tigers two games prior, opponents have struggled to find success from downtown. In Missouri’s two victories, their opponents have only shot 25% on three-pointers, which ranks No. 38 in the country.

It will be critical for WSU to continue that success from the season-opener in order to pull off the victory. The Shockers’ backcourt of Etienne and Alterique Gilbert combined for six three-pointers against ORU and it will be important for them to build off that against the Tigers. 

Dominate the Boards

In the Shockers’ lone game this season, they lost the rebounding battle against Oral Roberts by two. Through Mizzou’s first two games against ORU and Oregon, they have outrebounded their opponents by nine. 

WSU will be tested on the boards against Missouri, which enters the contest with the 55th best offensive rebounding percentage at 33.3%, according to KenPom. Jeremiah Tilmon has been a force on the glass for the Tigers, averaging 10.3 rebounds per game including eight offensive rebounds. 

Sophomore Clarence Jackson was impressive in his Shocker debut rebounding the basketball, tallying a career-high eight rebounds. At the center position, the Shockers will once again be limited to Morris Udeze and Issaiah Poor Bear-Chandler. The pair combined for nine rebounds on Wednesday and their performance on the glass will be crucial. 

Guard Play

One of the main things that propelled WSU to its season-opening victory was the play of its backcourt — Alterique Gilbert and Tyson Etienne. The duo combined for over half of WSU’s points on Wednesday night. 

Similarly to WSU, one of Missouri’s strengths is their guard play, particularly its backcourt of Xavier Pinson and Dru Smith. Pinson is currently the leading scorer for the Tigers with 19.5 points per game while Smith is one of the top two-way guards in the SEC and was a preseason second-team all-conference selection. 

It will be crucial for the Shockers to win the guard matchup especially with how well Etienne and Gilbert played against ORU. It could be an added bonus if combo-guard Dexter Dennis can get going offensively after only finishing with two points on 1-6 shooting in the victory.