No. 14/16 University of Missouri men’s basketball is back home with just two weeks left in the regular season, hosting South Carolina on Tuesday night. Tipoff is set for 8 p.m. on ESPNU.
ABOUT THE TIGERS
• Mizzou owns a 20-7 record with a 9-5 mark in SEC play. The Tigers are currently ranked No. 14 in the AP poll and No. 16 in the USA Today Coaches poll.
• MU had its three-game winning streak snapped on Saturday, falling at Arkansas, 92-85.
• Mark Mitchell leads the Tigers with 13.7 points per game to go with 4.7 rebounds.
• Caleb Grill and Tamar Bates also score in double figures with 13.4 and 13.3 points, respectively.
• Josh Gray has a team-best 5.1 rebounds, while Anthony Robinson II leads MU with 3.3 assists.
• Mizzou is eighth nationally with a scoring offense of 83.7 and 18th with a scoring margin of +12.8.
ABOUT THE GAMECOCKS
• South Carolina enters Tuesday’s contest with an 11-16 overall record and 1-13 mark in SEC action.
• The Gamecocks are coming off an 84-69 win over Texas on Saturday.
• Collin Murray-Boyles leads South Carolina with 15.7 points, 8.5 rebounds, 2.4 assists, 1.5 blocks and 1.4 assists per game.
• The Gamecocks average 70.1 points per game, while allowing 70.8 defensively.
SERIES HISTORY
• The schools are knotted at nine games apiece in 18 all-time meetings in the series.
• The home team is 12-5 in matchups between the two schools and have won seven of the last nine.
• Last season, South Carolina prevailed in two close contests with Mizzou, winning in overtime in Mizzou Arena before an eight-point home win.
HOME SWEET HOME
• The Tigers have been one of the most dominant programs at home this season.
• MU owns a 17-1 record in 2024-25 at Mizzou Arena, tied for the most home wins of any school in the nation (St. John’s also has 17).
• The Tigers’ 17 wins in Columbia are just one shy of the school record of 18, set in 2008-09.
• Overall, MU is 17-1 at Mizzou Arena this season and has largely dominated its foes at home, winning by an average of 19.5 points.
TIGERS IN THE RANKINGS
• Mizzou improved by one place in the AP poll to No. 14 and stayed even at No. 16 in the USA Today Coaches poll.
• It marks the first time the Tigers have spent six-straight weeks in the polls since an 11-week run during the 2020-21 campaign.
MIZZOU THROUGH 14 SEC GAMES
• Through 14 conference games, the Tigers are tied for fourth place with an 9-5 record in SEC play.
• The 9-5 start is Missouri’s best record through 14 league games since joining the SEC in 2012-13.
• With four games remaining, the Tigers are just two wins shy of their best SEC record of 11-7 – accomplished in 2012-13 and 2022-23.
TIGER OFFENSE ON FIRE
• The Tigers are playing their best basketball on the offensive side as of late.
• In its last four games, Mizzou is averaging 91.0 points – shooting 50.8 percent from the field.
• Mizzou has eclipsed 80 points in all four of the games, marking the first time with four-straight contests of 80-plus points in league play since 2012-13.
• MU is now aiming for five-straight league games of 80-plus points for the first time since 1988-89.
• Overall, the Tigers rank eighth nationally with a scoring offense of 83.7 points – the team’s highest average since scoring 86.8 in 1989-90.
STAY HOT, MARK MITCHELL
• Junior Mark Mitchell has keyed the Tigers’ hot stretch as of late.
• In his last five games, Mitchell is averaging 19.8 points – shooting 60.7 percent from the field and 72.7 percent from 2-point range.
• His most impressive performance during the run was a career-high 31-point game in a win over No. 4 Alabama, making 11-of-15 field goals.
• Mitchell now leads the team with 13.7 points per game, while ranking second with 4.7 rebounds.
50-40-90 CLUB
• Senior Tamar Bates is enjoying one of the best shooting seasons by a Tiger in school history.
• Bates is averaging 13.3 points per game, shooting 50.4 percent overall, 40.9 percent from 3-point range and 93.2 percent from the free-throw line.
• The senior is on pace to become the first Tiger in school history to shoot 50-40-90 in a season.
• Overall, Bates is one of three players nationally to hit the mark this season.
GATES NAMED TO WATCH LIST
• Whitten Family Head Coach Dennis Gates was recognized among the nation’s best last Friday.
• Gates was one of 15 coaches nationally named to the Werner Ladder Naismith Men’s Coach of the Year Watch List.
• It marks the second time in three years Gates was recognized on the watch list.
