Mizzou traveling to Mississippi State after ‘timely’ week of rest
COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)
No. 20 Mizzou Men's Basketball is ready to resume its stretch of four straight top-16 opponents.
The Tigers (16-4) are hitting the road to face No. 14 Mississippi State (16-5) on Saturday with a chance to win its sixth SEC game in its last seven contests.
MU is entering this contest with the recent momentum of its win over then-No. 16 Ole Miss and a feeling of refreshment. Mizzou will have had a full week of rest ahead of its game against the Bulldogs, including seven days to prepare. The break arrived at a good time for head coach Dennis Gates' group, who has almost reached the halfway point of a challenging conference season.
"I think it's timely. Whenever you look at, being able to get into a new month of basketball in your conference that means that teams are starting to break down a little bit," Coach Gates said at Thursday's press conference. "I think for us, it gives us a time to recoup, focus on what we've done right, focus on what we've done wrong and correct those wrongs. We haven't played our best basketball on the road, and that's something we've got to get to."
You can watch the full press conferences with Coach Gates and Mizzou center Josh Gray in the slideshow above.
The SEC currently features 10 teams that are represented in the latest AP Top 25 Poll. Mizzou is in the midst of facing four of those programs in consecutive games, including No. 14 Mississippi State, No. 8 Tennessee and No. 13 Texas A&M in seven days. However, MU is not approaching this stretch of games any different than its previous contests.
"It's an 18-game stretch, not a four-game stretch, and each stretch of games add an emotional, mental and physical component that we have to endure. We have some unbelievable opponents that we are facing, but it's one game at a time," Gates said. "I think, ultimately, the SEC is the number one conference. We're in a new day of college basketball, and when you look at our next opponent, our next opponent is the most important opponent, and then we'll dissect the opponent after that. But, our guys, their number one focus is on Mississippi State."
Rebounding could be a category that decides the winner of Saturday's showdown. Mississippi State has two players who are ranked top-15 in the SEC rebounding: KeShawn Murphy (7.1 RPG) and Cameron Matthews (7.0 RPG). Josh Gray could be the key to slowing down that duo. The South Carolina transfer is tied for the team-lead in rebounds, averaging nearly five of them per game, and has posted six or more boards in seven games during the 2024-25 campaign. Gray made a recent statement that he wished he had transferred to Mizzou when Coach Gates first took over the team, crediting the culture that he has built and how he has impacted his development.
"Everything that I've absorbed here, that I've got to witness and be a part of, it's been great, so that's why I said that I wish I was here two years ago," Gray said at the press conference. "This is a family... I didn't really have like a family vibe, you know, like a real family vibe from when it comes to like the coaching staff all the way down to the players so it's a real tight group here."
Along with a pair of talented rebounders, the Bulldogs also features one of the 10 best shooters in the SEC. Josh Hubbard is averaging 17.3 points per game this season at Mississippi State. The team knows it will have to limit his scoring ability to hand the Bulldogs their second straight SEC loss.
"Well, I think you just got to get a hand up, you know, ultimately, in those situations. You can't foul. He's drawing a lot of fouls from beyond the arc, as well," Gates said. "We have to give him space while also being vertical and contesting the right way without fouling his lower body, so we got to do a great job of that and making sure that we try to get deflections on the passers that are trying to get the ball to him."
Tipoff at Humphrey Coliseum is scheduled for Saturday, Feb. 1 at 12 p.m.