Mizzou aims to address paint problems, honor seniors in regular season finale
COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)
No. 15 Mizzou Men's Basketball has almost reached the finish line of its 2024-25 regular season.
The Tigers (21-9) have one last opponent to face before turning the page to the postseason: No. 19 Kentucky (20-10). With a win over the Wildcats, MU would match its highest SEC win total (11) in program history.
Saturday's regular season finale still carries plenty of weight ahead of the SEC and NCAA Tournaments. While the Tigers are out of contention for a double-bye in the conference tournament, Mizzou has another opportunity to bolster its national tournament resume with a sixth win over a ranked program. Saturday's outcome will also affect the team's path through a talented SEC Tournament field.
"We always want to end a regular season or conference season with wins. There's no doubt about it. It helps us in our seeding. Both teams are playing for, a matter of, I think that six-to-eight range of seeding in conference," Gates said. "It does have implications in Selection Sunday. No matter how you look at it, it still has some implications. Both teams will have work to do to increase that, but it's a tournament game in our eyes."
You can watch the full press conference with Coach Gates in the video player below.
It also represents an opportunity for the Tigers to rebuild some momentum at the most important time of the season. MU has lost three of its last four games, all against unranked opponents, largely because of recent struggles with interior defense. Mizzou has allowed 182 points in the paint in its last four games, including 96 paint points combined in its back-to-back losses at Vanderbilt and Oklahoma. Coach Gates addressed the concern, saying foul trouble is at the heart of the problem.
"Just stop fouling. You don't give yourself a chance to defend if you're just allowing free throws, so we got to be able to not foul in certain situations, especially when it comes down to a high percentage shooting team. If you look at the common denominator, we gave up too many free throws, and that's part of points in the paint in my eyes, no different than two point field goals," Gates said at Friday's press conference. "You got to adjust to the whistle at this time of the year. You still want guys to play hard. You still want them to play aggressive. You don't want to change too much, but you can't get caught with your hand in the cookie jar. You got to not reach in those last five to ten seconds. You cannot get yourself in the bonus too early, and that takes away the aggression."
Besides postseason morale and implications, Saturday's sold-out showdown with UK will be a chance for MU to give its seniors one last win inside Mizzou Arena. The Tigers will honor their seven seniors after the game, including two players who stuck with the program through all the ups and downs of the last two years. Tamar Bates and Caleb Grill chose to stay in Columbia, despite a winless 2024 SEC season, and now, that duo has left a lasting mark on the program through their leadership and helped guide the team to this season's success.
"I'm thankful that those kids have given what they've given, but more importantly, when you look at Caleb Grill and Tamar Bates, they've provided some leadership. They're two of my captains," Gates said. "Those two guys, from a history standpoint, have forever etched their name."
"I feel like after the game, when we actually do all the senior night stuff, that's when more of the emotional stuff will set in, and I really realize that it is my last game playing here," Bates said. "Today, I didn't even realize I don't even have that many practices left on that court, so I mean, I'm still in game mode, but I do understand like it's our last regular season game, and I'm really excited for it."
You can watch the full press conference with Bates, as well as guard Jeremy Sanchez in the video player below.
Tipoff at Mizzou Arena is scheduled for 11 a.m.
