Mizzou men’s basketball stuck in St. Louis due to winter weather
ST. LOUIS, Mo. (KMIZ) -
The University of Missouri men's basketball team is hoping to return to Columbia on Monday after winter weather delayed its return home.
The poor weather diverted the team's flight home on Saturday night to St. Louis, according to athletics spokesman Dave Matter. The team returned to Missouri after its 84-68 road loss to Auburn on Saturday.
Information from the flight tracking website FlightAware shows the program's flight took off from the airport in Columbus, Georgia, which is 50 minutes east of Auburn, Alabama. Instead of heading to Columbia, the plane landed at Lambert International Airport in St. Louis at 9:39 p.m. on Saturday.
Head coach Dennis Gates told ABC 17 News that he wanted to make sure the team made it back to Mid-Missouri safely.
"But we had some travel aversions where we weren't able to get back to [Columbia] safely, and we're just wanting now to make sure our guys, our players are safe that's the number one priority," Gates said.
Road crews tell ABC 17 News that the winter storm may still keep roads covered throughout Monday. The cold temperatures and strong winds will both make salt to treat ice buildup more ineffective and blow snow back onto the roads after a plow has cleared them.
The team is still preparing for its Tuesday night matchup against LSU at Mizzou Arena while it's displaced. The game is set to tip off at 8 p.m.
