Mizzou hoops starts SEC play with clash against reigning national champs

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

A new year means a new season is beginning for Mizzou men's basketball.

Following a 10-3 start through non-conference action, head coach Dennis Gates and his team will kick off Southeastern Conference play with clash against the reigning national champions at Mizzou Arena. No. 22 Florida will roll into Columbia, after a 9-4 start to season, which included narrow losses to No. 4 Duke and No. 5 UConn.

"I think matching the physicality. They've got two huge guys in [Alex] Condon and [Rueben] Chinyelu and Thomas Haugh can just play super hard, so just matching their physicality and matching their energy the whole game is gonna be most important," forward Mark Mitchell said when asked about the keys to the game against the Gators.

You can watch the full press conference with Mitchell in the video player below.

Mizzou is going to need all the help that it can get against the reigning champs and the good news for Tiger fans is that Coach Gates expects two, critical players, who have been injured, to get minutes, on Saturday.

Gates said that both forward Trent Pierce and guard Jayden Stone are expected to get minutes in the showdown against Florida. Stone went down with a broken hand just six games into the season, with his last outing coming against South Dakota on Nov. 20. Meanwhile, Pierce hasn't played since last season.

"You know, [Trent Pierce] had practices before the Illinois game, but it was just too soon to put him in that rotation and having that time off, right now, allowed him practices, scrimmages and different things, reps. It's great to have experience. Experience is something that's important. But Trent's a good basketball player, so he's going to impact the game. We just got to continue to build him up to a guy that can get 30 minutes," Coach Gates said.

You can watch the full press conference with Gates in the video player below.

The leader of the Tigers also added that forward Jevon Porter will not play against the Gators, as he continues to recover from the injury that kept him out in Mizzou's last game against Illinois.

Although SEC play marks a clean slate for MU, that 43-point loss against the No. 20 Fighting Illini is still ringing in the heads of the fanbase. Since that defeat, Mitchell said that the team took some time to reset following that game, but got right back to work, after that.

"Figuring out what we can do on and off the court, just to improve ourselves," he said. "See how we can just going forward, striving forward and see what we can correct. There's a lot of season left and we're just gonna attack that."

For Gates, the focus since that loss has been getting his team healthy. Mizzou was dealt a tough hand of injury cards in 2025, with starters being forced to ride the bench, and he said that's affected his group's ability to grow together the way they need to at practice.

He added that the Tigers have been able to grow this season, but not enough to win games against Kansas, Illinois and Notre Dame, as they fell they should've.

When asked if he feels, due to injuries, that his team is behind where he'd like them to be before conference play begins, Coach Gates emphasized that all these situations are just opportunities for players to step up.

"No, "I don't look at anything as a behind. I look at it as circumstantial," he said. "All your players won't be playing very well at the same time, right? Sometimes guys foul out sometimes and a lot of things that's not noted is flu season and and things like that, we've had several guys out with flus and everything else. That's also a factor that will always interrupt play. So, you just add that to it. I don't look at it as a situation where it's a disadvantage. We have to continue to get through these moments and it allows you and other guys to step in and step up and play multiple roles. Maybe those roles mimic in-game situations, where there's foul trouble or an ejection. Last year, Tony Perkins got ejected at Florida with an inverted elbow to the groin area. They kicked him out, T.O. Barrett came in a close the game for us. Without reps before that, without reps in practice, he wouldn't have been prepared. So, these moments allow you, silver lining, in the future to get better."

Gates said, of course, there's still work to be done to be an NCAA Tournament team, but he believes that 10-3 start to the year put his guys in a position to do so.

"We're going to fight for an SEC Championship. That's what we want to do. That's our goal and every team starts 0-0 and a new year and a completely new season. Whatever was done in non-conference, it allows you to reset. That's where we are, in our reset."

Up next - Mizzou will tip off SEC play against No. 22 Florida at home on Saturday at 7:30 p.m.