Luke Northweather's Ceiling, Floor with Mizzou Basketball in 2026-27

The Missouri Tigers have constructed a roster that includes six returners, three freshman and a slew of transfer talent. At power forward and center, that diversity is even more exaggerated. Between proven transfers in Bryson Tiller from Kansas and Jaylen Carey from Tennessee, five-star freshman Toni Bryant and three returners, the Tigers have a little bit of everything.

Senior Luke Northweather is among the three returners and exemplifies the many options the Tigers have between their bigs. Northweather is near the bottom of the rotation, but still brings a unique option for Missouri as a 6-foot-11 sharpshooter.

Here's what the ceiling and floor looks like for Northweather in his second season with the Tigers.

What he brings

After two years at Oklahoma, it became obvious what Northweather provides at the collegiate level: a lengthy frame that relies on catch-and-shoot threes off the bench. Northweather appeared in 55 games as a Sooner and averaged 2.7 points and 1.5 rebounds in 11.3 minutes per game during his second season. He took 2.1 shots per game and 1.7 from long distance, proving his reliance from beyond the arc.

Last year at Missouri, virtually the same tape replayed itself as the transfer continued to be a bench addition that snagged a few rebounds and lived behind the 3-point line. But after 7-foot-5 Trent Burns established himself as a somewhat-consistent backup and Missouri tried to tap into Nicholas Randall's potential, Northweather's minutes dwindled.

During conference play, Northweather was almost entirely phased out and appeared in just six games. It is likely that the same outcome will repeat this year due to a deeper room of power forwards and centers.

Northweather may not see a whole lot of playing time this year, but he could still contribute to the Tigers. At 6'11 he shot 41.9 percent from distance and was active on the glass, securing 2.4 rebounds in 12.4 minutes per game last season.

He will not bang down low with the high-intensity that Tiller or Carey will bring and he doesn't have the raw potential of Burns or Bryant, but what Missouri will receive from Northweather is a predictable consistency.

Due to the lack of unknowns and dependable play across three years as a backup, the ceiling and floor of the senior doesn't differ nearly as much as many other Tigers.

Ceiling

It's incredibly likely that Northweathers minutes will dwindle this season since the Tigers have a much deeper frontcourt rotation. At his ceiling, instead of increased points or rebounds, the best outcome for Northweather would be elevated percentages from beyond the arc leading to more plug and play scenarios.

Stats: 2 ppg, 2 rpg, 0.5 apg, 0.3 bpg, 0.3 tpg, 49% FG, 43% 3FG, 75% FT

Floor

If Northweather's shooting percentages dip back down to how he shot at Oklahoma — 26.7 and 34 percent from 3-point range in two seasons — he will see little-to-no playing time in SEC play.

Stats: 1 ppg, 1 rpg, 0.2 apg, 0.1 bpg, 0.3 tpg, 38% FG, 30% 3FG, 57% FT

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