Mizzou rises to top-15 in AP Poll ahead of showdown at No. 4 Tennessee
COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)
No. 15 Mizzou Men's Basketball is seeking three straight wins over ranked opponents.
The Tigers (17-4) are preparing to hit the road to face No. 4 Tennessee (18-4) for the opportunity to add a fifth win over a ranked program to its NCAA Tournament resume.
Fresh off its largest road win over a ranked opponent in program history, MU enters this contest with the momentum of back-to-back SEC wins over then-No. 16 Ole Miss and then-No. 14 Mississippi State. The Tigers dropped 88 points on the Bulldogs inside Humphrey Coliseum and shot 55% from the field. Defensively, Mizzou also forced Mississippi State to hit less than 40% of its attempts on its home court. Although MU has toppled four top-16 teams already this season, head coach Dennis Gates believes his team still has more to show.
"The ceiling of our team has not been reached yet. I truly believe that there's another level or two that we can go to," Gates said at Monday's press conference. "There's multiple things, but making sure that we're showing up from an emotional, mental and physical standpoint to each and every game, no matter the environment. The other part of it is making sure all cylinders are clicking. We've yet to play a game where every single person is playing up to their potential, and that's what I gauge it off of."
You can watch the full press conference with head coach Dennis Gates in the slideshow above.
Mizzou's 27-point road win over then-No. 14 Mississippi State gained them five spots in the latest Associated Press (AP) Top-25 Poll, checking them in at No. 15 in this week's rankings. The Southeastern Conference (SEC) continues to be well-represented in that poll. Nine SEC programs are currently ranked in the AP Top-25 and three others are receiving votes. Facing that high-level talent in the SEC has helped mold Mizzou into a top-15 team in the nation.
"There's a lot of great coaches in this conference. There's a lot of great players. You have no choice, when we began the SEC season, to look at the top 16 strength of schedules remaining, it was in order, all SEC teams, so when you have that type of scheduling, you have no choice but to get better because these situations that come up end of game, close games, end of halves and also the environments, they allow that to take place," Gates said. "Again, players are going to continue to play, coaches are going to coach, and I think the combination of all that in one conference allows us to continue to improve each other by way of sharpening each other's blades, so to speak."
MU's high-caliber offense is also catching the college basketball world's attention. The Tigers currently boast the nation's 16th-best scoring offense (No. 5 in SEC), 29th-best field goal percentage (No. 4 in SEC) and 28th-best three-point percentage (No. 4 in SEC). Mizzou's recent offensive success has been propelled by Caleb Grill, who has posted two straight 20-point games and is the No. 2-ranked three-point shooter in the nation. However, it's not just Grill who has been consistent on the offensive end of the floor. MU has three players who are averaging double figures. A key to all this scoring production has been Coach Gates emphasizing players have the 'green light' to take shots in areas they thrive.
"I think confidence wise, it helps. Confidence is something that a coach can instill in his players, but also, confidence is something that players instill in each other because you have to remain comfortable in taking those risks and whatever risks that they are, I just want our guys to quote-unquote play where they see and have seen their success," Gates said. "They know my expectation offensively and defensively, so I want them to play confident defensively, I want them to play confident offensively, and ultimately, we'll put them in the right positions, the right places, and I just need their very best at all times."
Offensively, the Tigers will be put to the test when they travel to Knoxville. Tennessee owns the No. 3-ranked scoring defense in the nation (No. 1 in SEC), allowing just 58.6 points per game on average. The Volunteers are also playing confident basketball, lifted by their 20-point victory over then-No. 5 Florida last weekend. Coach Gates praised the program his team is about to face, who has already defeated five ranked opponents during the 2024-25 campaign.
"Rick Barnes is a great coach, Hall of Fame coach, obviously one of his better teams, no different than the majority of our opponents. Last season for Tennessee ended prematurely for them. I thought they had a national championship team, leave no doubt about it, and they still have a great team. They've been number one in the country by the Coaches Poll and AP Poll. They've been top 5 consistently, and that's the barometer when you look at where they have been respected," Gates said. "They have great players, top-to-bottom. That doesn't mean they don't foul. They just do a great job of doing the things that they do well. They are number one in rim protection, they are number one in a lot of categories defensively, and they're going to do a great job. That environment is going to be a tough environment to play in, and it's my job to get our guys prepared."
Tipoff for Wednesday, Feb. 5 at the Food City Center is scheduled for 6 p.m.