Mizzou hoops opens up March with a rematch at Oklahoma

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

A large portion of finding success in college basketball comes down to peaking at the right time.

Take Mizzou men's basketball's 2024-25 campaign, for example. In that season, head coach Dennis Gates and his squad peaked from December to mid-February. In that time, the group captured wins over then-No. 1 Kansas and then-No. 4 Alabama on their home court. The effort was enough to gain Mizzou a No. 6 seed in the NCAA Tournament.

However, the team peaked just a tad too early, as the Tigers fell to No. 11-seeded Drake in the very first round of the Big Dance out in Wichita, Kansas.

Flash forward to the 2025-26 campaign and it's beginning to feel like Mizzou hoops may be peaking around the right time. Coach Gates is getting production from new faces and, in the words of forward Mark Mitchell, the group has clicked.

With peaking at the right time in mind, Coach Gates told local media members, on Monday, that he did change some of his approach to this season.

"I didn't utilize the entire summer both by conscious, but also because of our injuries. That helped us push things back. The other part of it, when it comes down to scheduling, [summer is] the time frame where you're actually scheduling, so if I'm knowing that [there's a] possibility that I don't have a Trent Pierce and things like that, I'm not going to go put our team in a psychologically disadvantage by scheduling games where I know I'm not 100 percent," he said. "You've heard Mark Mitchell say he was hurt this summer, watching T.O. [Barrett] from the side. You heard certain guys have bumps and bruises and the only thing that pops into my mind is our second season when we were without John Tonje and Caleb Grill, both guys that were in the starting lineup. So, you kind of have to protect your team. That's what I did with our scheduling, knowing that the SEC would get us back to where we need to be, from a strength of schedule standpoint and a body of work. You utilize your intuition, you utilize certain things, but you have to understand our calendar where we would have liked our December to be December, now our December was in January...and it was pushed back a month. We had to gel, we had to jail late and we didn't really start, you know, putting everybody in the same place until the first of the year, after Christmas."

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

Heading into the final two games of the regular-season, Gates said there are some signs that his team's best basketball is still ahead of them.

"Health is important," he said. "It's great to see [Anthony] Robinson, you know, turn a corner and show his toughness and resilience, which we know he would. The other part of it is making sure that we remain healthy. From Mark Mitchell to Jayden Stone to T.O. [Barrett] to Trent Pierce. It seems like we have a eight-man rotation, but you never know when it comes down to foul trouble. Who's going to have to step up? You know, [Jacob] Crews hasn't been as impactful as he was in preseason and we're looking forward for him to make the jump and continue to get better and continue to contribute. But, he's not forcing anything and that's the best part of it. Defensively, I think our team has grown and we've been able to close out and steal some possessions, but we have to continue to rebound. We have to continue to fight through the physicality of this league, we have to continue to make some free throws and I think that will continue to help us."

The Tigers' next two-game stretch will be critical in determining not just their NCAA Tournament fate, but also their standing in upcoming SEC Tournament in Nashville, Tenn.

As of Monday afternoon, Mizzou is in a three-way tie for fourth place in the conference. However, that tie comes against both Tennessee and Kentucky, who the Tigers hold the tiebreaker over since they beat both the Volunteers and Wildcats, this season. So, if the regular-season ended now, MU would have a double-bye and a No. 4 seeding in the conference tournament.

But, the season isn't over now. There's still work to be done.

"I think when you look at the schedule, [the players] know what they signed up for. We talk about it in our offseason in our assimilation into not only the team culture, but also the level that you're at. Most of these kids dream of playing at the highest level and it's no different than if they get a shot to play in the NBA one day. They'll be ready just because they have habits and skills that they've leaned on, prior to their two feet landing where their aspirations were," Gates said.

Mizzou will look to help its SEC Tournament standings a road trip down to Norman, Oklahoma on Tuesday night. The Tigers will play in a rematch against the Oklahoma Sooners, as Coach Gates and his team are fresh off of dominant win over Mississippi State, over the weekend.

That win over the Bulldogs was highlighted by big minutes from some big men. 7-foot center Shawn Phillips Jr. and 7-foot-5 center Trent Burns have been making a big impact lately, as Burns is finally starting to emerge as the player Coach Gates knew he could be.

"You have to be able to not give up on players as a coach and understand development is invisible. You never know when the opportunity is going to come. Then, that the responsibility within young players to never know when their opportunity is, but understanding that they must be ready at all times," Gates said. "So, the mental part was there for [Trent Burns] to do that, but also, most importantly, I think no one loves to sit and that is the best remedy for development and earning time. So, he didn't give up on himself, staff didn't give up on him. Our staff has done a great job of development, and for the most part, everybody's playing their part, man. I'm happy for Trent Burns. I still think he has a jump to make, but has definitely given us the opportunity to have some length around the basket, especially when [Shawn Phillips Jr. is] out."

Coach Gates said having both Phillips Jr. and Burns available to make an impact adds some versatility to his rotation.

Although each guy is a very different player, they both play with an unselfishness that benefits the entire team. They also have quite the basketball IQ.

"The IQ that both these guys have is leading us in a way, especially on the defensive end, as anchors being able to execute the game plan both offensively and defensively. It was great to see both maximize their opportunity in paint touches and paint defense," Gates said.

Mizzou will tip off against Oklahoma at 6 p.m. on Tuesday in the Lloyd Noble Center.