Mizzou hoops set for road rematch with Mississippi State
STARKVILLE, Miss. (KMIZ)
The home stretch of the regular-season has arrived, as the Mizzou men's basketball team is set to embark on its final two-game road swing of the year.
On Saturday, head coach Dennis Gates and his team will tip off that two-game stretch with a rematch against Mississippi State, in Starkville. The Tigers and the Bulldogs have already met once, this season, with MU coming out with the victory on its home court, 84-79.
While you can take lessons from the last time you played a team, Coach Gates said its important to note that every team has gotten better, at this point in the year. It will not be an identical matchup to the last meeting.
"Right now, your prep is pretty much consistent with what you've been doing, whether it's the first time you're playing a team or second. They're not the same team that they were, none of them are at the time that you meet them. Obviously, you have experience going into your, you know, 14th, 15th, 16th-plus game in the conference," he said. "You have to understand that no matter what, you're not the same team. Some games have helped define roles or given confidence to different players along the way, have guys step up some some cases. You may have some injuries, right? You may have injuries that change a lineup. But, as it relates to getting better, we assume all teams get better and we approach it as if it's our first time playing that team, while learning about the nuances that we can do better from game-to-game."
You can watch the full press conference with Gates in the video player below.
Last time Mizzou went head-to-head with Mississippi State, guard Josh Hubbard went off for 22 points and six rebounds, as the Bulldogs nearly assembled a comeback bid in the second half.
Coach Gates said that Hubbard is, by far, one of the best players in the Southeastern Conference, this season. The senior ranks No. 2 in the league in scoring, averaging 21.6 points per game, averaging about 33 minutes per outing. The Tigers will now be tasked with slowing him down on his home court.
However, Coach Gates has quite a few players playing some of their best basketball, himself.
Mizzou will roll into Starkville fresh off of a big win over No. 22 Tennessee, where guard T.O. Barrett had a career night against the Volunteers. The sophomore recorded a career-best 28 points in the victory, complimented by a 23-point night from forward Mark Mitchell.
Over the course of the last few games, fans have also seen guard Anthony Robinson get his shots to start falling. The junior was averaging about five points per game through much of SEC action, but in the last four games he's averaged 9.5 points, including a pair of double-figure outings.
But, if you ask Coach Gates, he will reiterate that Robinson has been playing good basketball all season long.
"Defensively, he's been great. Being able to go out and lead his team down the stretch, being able to knock down free throws towards the end of game is very important and being able to take care of the basketball, being able to do several things right. I think it's a relief for [Anthony[ Robinson to see the ball go in," Gates said. "But for me, I know I want the best for him. From a standpoint of prediction, we wanted him to make another big, big jump, a big jump. Now, when you have to make multiple big jumps back-to-back, that's difficult. So, right now, he's playing good basketball and I'm looking forward to what and how he continues to impact his team."
Up next - Mizzou will tip off against Mississippi State on Saturday at 12 p.m. CT from Humphrey Coliseum.
