Mizzou ready to begin second half of SEC play
COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)
Mizzou Men's Basketball tips off the second half of its SEC schedule on Wednesday night, and the Tigers are treating the final nine games of conference play like a brand-new season. Dennis Gates' crew is still searching for its first SEC win after starting its conference season with an 0-9 record, but the team's confidence has not disappeared.
"I spoke about going 9-9. How do we want this second half to go? You can't control certain things that has already happened, but how can you move forward? But, you can't just get all nine wins. You have to start with one. You have to start with winning each practice each day, and obviously, looking in the mirror first," Dennis Gates said at Tuesday's press conference.
You can watch the full press conference with Mizzou basketball coach Dennis Gates in the video player below.
"We're a very connected group, so I believe we're real tight with each other and know that we can really dig ourselves out. We still believe in each other," Anthony Robinson II said at Tuesday's press conference.
You can watch the full press conference with Mizzou freshman guard Anthony Robinson II in the video player below.
Mizzou's first opportunity in the second half of SEC play to earn its first conference victory is a rematch with Texas A&M. Gates' crew dropped a close six-point game with the Aggies two weeks ago on the road, despite holding Texas A&M to 28.8% shooting in the contest. The free throw margin made a big difference in that game at Reed Arena. Mizzou only visited the charity stripe 10 times compared to the Aggies, who posted 37 free throw attempts. Gates reflected on that game on Tuesday and explained what his team needs to do to win the rematch.
"Ultimately, just being able to put together an unbelievable body of work. We got out to a great start, had stops, don't get discouraged if that foul count or if even plays don't go our way," Gates said. "We just want to give ourselves a chance to win the game, and we got to do that not by looking at the last two minutes but looking at every possession that's in front of us."
Tipoff for Wednesday's game at Mizzou Arena is scheduled for 8 p.m.
