Tennessee head coach Donnie Tyndall talks with Tennessee guard Detrick Mostella (15) in their game against East Tennessee State on Dec. 31, 2014, in Knoxville.KNOXVILLE — You couldn’t blame Donnie Tyndall and Kim Anderson if they decided to compare notes and share stories some time before 6 this evening.
As two of the Southeastern Conference’s three first-year basketball coaches, Tyndall at Tennessee and Anderson at Missouri are facing a number of similarities this season with new-look rosters.
“I think very similar situations,” Tyndall said before the Volunteers practiced Thursday. “He had maybe one more guy than we did returning. He got the job late and tried to put together a roster. His team’s playing extremely hard. I think he’s doing a great job coaching those guys, and they’ve made progress.
“They’ve gotten better week to week, and that shows a team that’s well-coached, when their players are developing and growing.”
When the teams met at Mizzou Arena last season, Jabari Brown scored 24 points to lead the Tigers past Tennessee and Jordan McRae, who had 31 points. Only three starters from that game — Tennessee’s Josh Richardson and Missouri’s Johnathan Williams III and Ryan Rosburg — are back this season.