Mizzou set to face Ole Miss in ninth-annual Rally for Rhyan game
COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)
Just two weeks ago, Ole Miss snuck out of its home gym with a narrow three-point win over Mizzou Men's Basketball. On Saturday night, Dennis Gates' crew will have another chance to pick up their first SEC win of the season against the Rebels.
The Tigers will not only try to snap a program-worst 15-game losing streak in that contest, Mizzou will also be playing for a great cause. Saturday night's contest will be the ninth-annual Rally for Rhyan game where the program will help raise money for pediatric cancer research. The annual game started back in 2016 after former Mizzou Men's Basketball assistant coach Brad Loos' daughter Rhyan was diagnosed with stage four neuroblastoma. Since undergoing treatment, Rhyan has been cancer free since Dec. 2016, and RallyforRhyan has raised more than $800,000 for pediatric cancer research studies.
"I have nothing but respect for Brad Loos' family. Obviously, that RallyforRhyan is a tremendous community thing. It was here and started before I got here, and I'm going to continue that tradition of supporting it," Dennis Gates said. "This is an opportunity for us all to rally for a greater cause beyond Rhyan but also support Rhyan and use the platform that the Loos family has been able to provide this community and institution with."
You can watch the full press conference with Mizzou basketball coach Dennis Gates in the video player below.
When Mizzou and Ole Miss met back on Feb. 17, the Tigers led by double-digit points in the second half of that game. However, a 14-2 Ole Miss scoring run and 30 trips to the charity stripe for the Rebels in the second half led to a 79-76 loss. Both teams will be hungry for a win as Mizzou searches for its first SEC win and Ole Miss tries to bolster its resume for an NCAA Tournament bid, so this game might just come down to who has more energy and effort.
"We did a pretty solid job in the game plan," Sean East II said, referring to the last time Mizzou faced Ole Miss. "But, we just got to get the 50/50 balls that we didn't get in the second half, we've got to come away with some rebounds."
You can watch the full press conference with Mizzou graduate guard Sean East II in the video player below.
The Rally for Rhyan game is scheduled to tip off on Saturday, March 2 at 7:30 p.m. at Mizzou Arena.
