COLUMBIA, Mo. – In the second round of the 2025 Southeastern Conference Tournament, the No. 7-seeded Missouri Tigers defeated the No. 10-seeded Mississippi State Bulldogs. Overcoming the loss of its leading scorer Mark Mitchell, Missouri leaned on its deep roster en route to the 85-73 victory over Mississippi State.
“Our depth is very important to our success,” said Gates, “I just want all [of] our guys to be unselfish and to always be ready to play. Ultimately, it’s a team game and our guys got a team win tonight.”
Prior to the matchup, Missouri had sputtered into a tie for sixth place in the SEC, following three-straight losses to Vanderbilt, Oklahoma, and Kentucky. Drawing Mississippi State after the Bulldogs had trounced LSU in a 29-point victory in the opening round, Missouri needed a statement victory to remind the nation why it is a team to watch entering the NCAA Tournament.
It wasn’t an easy road to victory for the Tigers though. After two successive personal fouls in the opening minutes, the Tigers were without their All-SEC Defensive Team representative Anthony Robinson II for 12 minutes of the first half. Additionally, turnovers proved to still be an issue for the Tigers, as their poor handling of the ball allowed Mississippi State to have extra opportunities even when its shot wasn’t falling early.
Missouri adjusted well though, utilizing fast breaks to score on the Bulldogs in the early moments of offensive possessions. Led by its Senior guards Tamar Bates and Tony Perkins, Missouri managed to keep the pressure on, and every time Mississippi State countered with a run of its own, the Tigers had a fresh face to aid in the scoring. That would be the trend of the first half, but Missouri entered the break with the 39-34 advantage, thanks to Caleb Grill hitting his only three-point shot of the night at the buzzer.
The second half proved to be even closer than the first, with the two teams trading big moments up until the closing minutes. Mississippi State refused to give in for as long as it could, with Sophomore guard Josh Hubbard scoring 17 of his 24 points in the half, and its pair of forwards RJ Melendez and Keshawn Murphy drawing fouls at an impressive rate.
What proved to be the difference maker was Missouri’s next-man-up mentality. After Josh Gray exited the second half for an extended period due to leg cramping, Junior guard Aidan Shaw played his most minutes since Dec. 30, grabbing rebounds and blocking shots. Despite losing its leading scorer Mark Mitchell to an undisclosed lower-body injury, Missouri managed to outscore Mississippi State 46-39 in the second half. Ultimately, the Tigers ended Mississippi State’s SEC Tournament run in the final minute, scoring eight straight free throws and closing the show up by 12 to win.
Now their attention turns to the Quarterfinals, where they will play against No. 2 seeded Florida. Missouri has played against the Gators once before, in a Jan. 14 meeting where the Tigers went to Gainesville and scored a narrow 83-82 upset. If Missouri hopes to continue its run to the top of the SEC, it’ll have to make it 2-0 against Florida to do so.