Mizzou hoops opens up conference slate on the road
COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)
After going 11-2 through non-conference action to start the season, the Mizzou men's basketball team is opening up SEC action with a road trip to No. 2 Auburn on Saturday, Jan. 4.
However, the conference opener against the other Tigers won't be MU's first bout with a Top-25 team. Head coach Dennis Gates and company toppled then-No. 1 Kansas at home in December and narrowly lost to now-No. 21 Memphis to open up the season.
That being said, Mizzou's conference run will, undoubtedly, be a challenge. The Tigers will have 12 games against team ranked No. 24 or higher in the Southeastern Conference schedule.
"The schedule has definitely prepared us. It gave us an opportunity to to figure ourselves out and have identity," Gates said. "I think in the summer, you guys, didn't know how it was all going to come together and now that picture is getting more and more clear. We get to reset everything. No team has a record. We're all 0-0 when it comes down to conference play and may the best team win on that given night."
You can watch the full press conference with Coach Gates in the video player below.
Coaches Gates also added that he expects environments in the SEC to be a challenge this season, with the historic run the league is having to start the 2024-25 campaign. As of Friday, the Southeastern Conference has a combined record of 185-23.
"If you are average fan, you're going to want, no matter what the adversity is, to get to the game. You got gotta be able to get there because the brand of basketball that's happening in the SEC is remarkable," he said. "For me, just being excited in the first five minutes, that's not it. It's going to be excitement in the first 40 minutes, how about that? First 40 minutes, don't miss anything because I just think there will be several games in our conference throughout this year that is going to end in one possession or less."
Mizzou will have a big challenge on its hands right out of the gates with an Auburn team that ranked third in the SEC in scoring, with an average of about 88 points per game, and second in 3-pointers.
Gates and company will have to game plan for head coach Bruce's Pearl's star center Johni Broome. The senior ranks fourth in the conference in scoring, first in rebounding and is the first in blocks with an average of 2.6 per game.
"The one thing that I would say that stands out with Auburn and Broome is they're not happy with how their season ended and I want you to to think about how Virginia bounced back when they lost to UMBC... Auburn has that taste in their mouth and they've been playing that way. If you look at the disposition of their team led by Broome, and he's been playing a certain way with a level of focus and ultimately, when it comes down to the game plan, he's playing unselfish basketball," Gates said. "He could easily average 25 to 30 points a game if he wanted to and I just think that speaks for the depth of the team and the level of unselfishness he has, but also the job Bruce Pearl has done with that program."
MU has had a successful non-conference run of its own, already surpassing the win total from the 2023-24 campaign.
Depth has been the strong-suit for the Tigers, as eight different Tigers have led scoring throughout the season. However, guards Anthony Robinson, Caleb Grill and Tamar Bates, as well as forward Mark Mitchell have all consistently led the scoring charge, as each averages double-digits, so far.
Mitchell, a Duke transfer, averages the team-high 13.8 points per game, but also has been a threat on the boards, averaging the team high five rebounds per game.
The Tigers will hope to use that depth to register its second signature win of the season.
Mizzou and No. 2 Auburn will tip off at 3 p.m. CT in the SEC opener. The game will air on SEC Network.
