ST. LOUIS – The University of Missouri-St. Louis men's basketball team officially opens its 2025-26 season this weekend at the Division Two Conference Commissioner Association Tip Off Classic at the St. Joseph Civic Arena in St. Jospeh, Mo. The Tritons tip off the season on Saturday evening against Northwest Missouri at 7 p.m. and then will play Missouri Western on Sunday at 6 p.m.
All tickets for the event are general admission and prices are per day. It is $12 for adults and $8 for youth ages six to high school, college students and senior citizens. Children five and under will be admitted free. Tickets can be purchased online in advance at the above link or for walk-up purchase (cash and credit accepted) as well.
The games will be streamed on the MIAA Network for $15 per day, which covers all four games for the day.
UMSL is coming off a 21-12 season, including 15-5 in the Great Lakes Valley Conference. The Tritons advanced to the championship game of the GLVC Tournament and made a run to the Sweet Sixteen in the NCAA Tournament for the third time in four years.
UMSL returns three players from last year's squad in
Quenton Parker,
Taye Moore and
Israel Akeye but only Parker appeared in any contests. He appeared in 23 contests averaging 4.0 points and 1.3 rebounds per game
Bob Sundvold enters his 13th season at the helm and became the program's all-time leader in wins with a win over Ferris State in the first round of the NCAA Tournament last season. Sundvold has won 61.2 percent of his games at UMSL which is the second-best winning percentage in program history.
Northwest Missouri is coming off a 6-22 season including 4-15 in the Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletic Association. The Bearcats feature four returning players from last year's squad and must replace most of their scoring. NWMSU hit the transfer portal hard this offseason bringing in seven Division I or Division II transfers for this year's roster.
The Bearcats tip off their season on Friday (Oct. 31) against Minnesota State at 5 p.m.
Missouri Western finished the 2024-25 season with a record of 18-13 including 9-10 in the MIAA and will have a familiar face on the sidelines as Brooks McKowen, the former head coach at Upper Iowa, begins his first season in charge of the Griffons.
MWSU overhauled its roster this offseason having graduated nine players from last year's team and lost 14 of the 15 players on least year's squad overall. The lone returner from last year's team is Devin Butler who transferred in from Virginia Military Institute (VMI) last year. He played 31 games last season making one start and averaged 3.3 points and 1.3 rebounds per game.
The Griffons open their season against West Texas A&M on Friday (Oct. 31) at 7 p.m.
