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COLUMBIA - At 10:51 a.m., the black bus carrying the Missouri men’s basketball team pulled out of the south parking lot at Mizzou Arena.
The driver honked four times as about 150 fans cheered and sent off the Tigers, who are on their way to Boise, Idaho, for their NCAA Tournament first round game against Cornell on Friday. The crowd included MU students, players and coaches from MU teams and other fans.
- MU's Zaire Taylor talks to fans and signs autographs at the Mizzou Arena on Sunday after the team arrived back in Columbia.
- Ross Steelman, left, and Mathew Rothermich play basketball outside the Mizzou Arena. Their parents, like many Mizzou fans, were present to welcome back the basketball team after its successful stint at the NCAA tournament.
- MU men's basketball team head coach Mike Anderson speaks with the media at the Mizzou Arena on Sunday. A reception was held at the Arena to welcome the team home.
- Mizzou basketball fans wait outside Mizzou Arena on Sunday to greet the team as they arrived back from Glendale, Ariz., and its trip to the NCAA tournament.
- J.T. Tiller is welcomed home by fans as he gets off the team bus Sunday afternoon.
- Mizzou fans cheer and take pictures as the MU men's basketball team arrives outside the Mizzou Arena from Glendale, Ariz., on Sunday.
- MU's Kim English signs autographs for fans outside Mizzou Arena on Sunday after the team arrived back in Columbia. Mizzou fans gathered to welcome back the team after its trip to the Elite 8 in the NCAA tournament.
- Missouri basketball players get on stage outside of the Mizzou Arena for their sendoff to Boise, Idaho, on Wednesday morning.
As Andrew Prokup headed back to campus, the bus was making its way around the perimeter of the parking lot and headed north past the arena. Prokup, a MU student and roommate of guard Matt Lawrence, ran after the bus waving two yellow foam fingers in the air.
Prokup ate dinner with some players the other day, but he wanted to see them one last time before the tournament.
“The team, I don’t think I’ve ever seen them closer,” Prokup said.
At 10:45, the players came out of the arena and stepped onto a small stage. Guards Zaire Taylor and J.T. Tiller thanked the fans for their support. Then Tiller started a familiar cheer.
“Can I get a M-I-Z?” he said.
After the crowd responded, “Z-O-U,” the players got off the stage and made their way to the bus, giving fans high-fives and handshakes on the way.
Coach Mike Anderson was the last to get on the bus, giving two thumbs up to the crowd before climbing up the steps. Marty Napier, a fan who was a MU senior during Norm Stewart's first year as Missouri’s coach, said she is impressed with Anderson and feels good about the Tigers’ chances in this year's tournament.
“It’s our turn,” Napier said.
Napier and her friend, Marilyn Rose Thurdium, were among the first to arrive at the arena around 10 a.m. Thurdium said she’ll be happy if the Tigers beat Cornell, but Napier wants more.
“I’d like to see them make it to the top eight,” Napier said. “It would be a disappointment (if Missouri didn’t get there).
The Tigers play Cornell at 2 p.m. Friday at Taco Bell Arena in Boise.
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