The University of Missouri men’s basketball team wraps up a three-game homestretch in seven days, welcoming Mississippi Valley State to Mizzou Arena on Thursday night. Tipoff is set for 6:30 p.m. on SEC Network+.
ABOUT THE TIGERS
• Missouri enters with a 2-1 record through one week of the 2024-25 season.
• The Tigers have won both of their home games over Howard and Eastern Washington, while falling at Memphis.
• After scoring a career-best 33 points Monday, Caleb Grill is now tied for the MU lead in scoring with Tamar Bates, each scoring 13.0 points.
• Mark Mitchell and Anthony Robinson II are tied for third with 12.3 points. Mitchell also leads Mizzou with 6.0 boards, while Robinson has a team-best 4.0 assists and 2.0 steals.
• MU is averaging 78.7 points through three games, scoring a season-best 84 in Monday’s win.
ABOUT THE DELTA DEVILS
• Mississippi Valley State owns a 1-1 record through two games – falling at Iowa State and defeating Mississippi University for Women.
• Arthur Tate leads the Delta Devils in scoring with 12.0 points per game.
• Donovan Sanders is second on MVSU with 11.5 points, while leading the team with 9.0 rebounds and 3.5 assists per game.
• The Delta Devils average 55.0 points this season.
SERIES HISTORY
• The schools are meeting for the third time and the second time under Dennis Gates.
• D’Moi Hodge led the Tigers with 18 points and six steals in an 83-62 victory when the teams last met in 2022.
MIZZOU VERSUS SWAC
• MU has won 24 of 25 meetings versus the SWAC with 23-of-25 games decided by double digits.
HOME SWEET HOME
• The Tigers are currently in the midst of a 10-game homestand – the longest in MU history.,
• The team’s previous-long homestand was nine games to start the 2006-07 campaign.
• The Tigers will not play another game outside of Mizzou Arena until Dec. 22 against Illinois.
• MU is 2-0 so far during the homestand, leading for 72:19 or a possible 80 minutes and not trailing for a single second after halftime.
GRILL MASTER
• Graduate guard Caleb Grill is coming off a career-best game on Monday night.
• Against the Eagles, Grill tallied a personal-best 33 points in the winning effort, connecting on 10-of-13 field goals and 8-of-10 triples.
• His 33 points top his previous career high of 31, while he also matched his personal best with eight 3-pointers.
NUMBERS BEHIND THE TRIPLES
• Caleb Grill not only had a career night but one of the best by a Tiger behind the arc.
• Grill’s eight triples are tied for the third most in school history, while also matching the Mizzou Arena record – tying the mark of Torrence Watson (2019) and Xavier Pinson (2021).
• In addition, his 80.0 percent clip is the highest percentage by a Tiger with at least 10 attempts in school history.
• Overall, Grill’s eight triples are the most by an SEC player this season and tied for the third most nationally.
REVISITING A DEBUT
• While Caleb Grill is coming off a career-best game on Monday, he is also revisiting a collegiate first from five years ago.
• On Nov. 5, 2019, Grill made his collegiate debut against Mississippi Valley State, scoring seven points in a 110-74 victory for Iowa State.
BENCH POINTS
• The Tigers have showcased a number of options through two games this season.
• Mizzou is currently averaging 37.3 points from reserves in 2024-25 – accounting for 47.5 percent of the team’s points.
• MU has scored at least 30 bench points in all three games this season – the first time for the Tigers with three-straight since six-consecutive to open the 2017-18 campaign.
• In Monday’s win, Mizzou tallied 50 bench points – its most since 2019 against Chicago State (53).
GETTING TO THE LINE
• One notable difference for MU early in the season is its ability to get to the free-throw line.
• Mizzou has averaged 29.0 attempts from the charity stripe in its three games, ranking 28th nationally.
• Last season, the Tigers ranked last in the SEC by averaging 14.4 made free throws and 18.2 attempts per game – increasing their attempts by 10.8 per game.
• Through three games this season, MU is 19th nationally with a free-throw rate (FTA/FGA) of 55.8 percent.
DRAWING FOULS
• The player leading the charge to the free-throw line is sophomore Anthony Robinson II.
• Robinson leads Mizzou in both free throws made (20) and attempts (25) through three games.
• In fact, Robinson ranks 18th nationally in makes, 20th in attempts, 47th in fouls drown per 40 minutes (9.0) and 11th with a free-throw rate (FTA/FGA) of 166.7 percent.
