A third-straight top-20 matchup is on deck for University of Missouri men’s basketball as the No. 15 Tigers take on No. 4 Tennessee on Wednesday night. Tipoff in Knoxville is set for 6 p.m. CT on SEC Network.
ABOUT THE TIGERS
• Mizzou is ranked No. 15 in the AP poll and No. 16 in the USA Today Coaches poll.
• The Tigers own a 17-4 overall record and are third in the SEC standings with a 6-2 conference mark.
• MU has won back-to-back games over ranked foes, topping No. 16 Ole Miss, 83-75, and winning at No. 14 Mississippi State on Saturday, 88-61.
• Senior Tamar Bates leads three Tigers in double-figure scoring with 13.5 points, followed by Caleb Grill (13.2) and Mark Mitchell (12.8).
• Josh Gray has a team-best 5.1 rebounds, while Anthony Robinson II leads MU with 3.6 assists.
• Mizzou is 16th nationally with a scoring offense of 83.4 and 13th with a scoring margin of +14.8.
ABOUT THE VOLUNTEERS
• Tennessee is the nation’s fourth-ranked team in both polls after a 64-44 win over No. 5 Florida.
• The Volunteers are 18-4 overall with a 5-4 record in SEC play.
• Chaz Lanier leads four players in double-figure scoring with 17.9 points per game.
• Zakai Zeigler adds 12.3 points to go with a team-leading 7.4 assists per game.
• Igor Milicic Jr. collects a team-best 8.1 rebounds.
• UT averages 74.5 points, while ranking third nationally with a scoring defense of 58.6 points.
SERIES HISTORY
• In 22 all-time meetings, Tennessee holds a slight edge over the Tigers, 12-10.
• Last season, the teams played a tight contest in Columbia with No. 5 Tennessee escaping with a five-point win.
• The previous season, Mizzou swept a pair of games – winning at No. 6 UT in the regular season before a win in the SEC Quarterfinals.
• Overall, the road team has won the last six regular-season meetings in the series.
TIGERS IN THE RANKINGS
• Mizzou is enjoying its run in the national ranks.
• The Tigers improved their ranking in both polls by five spots this week, moving up to No. 15 in the AP poll and No. 16 in the coaches poll.
• It marks Mizzou’s highest ranking since placing No. 10 in both polls on Feb. 8, 2021.
MU THROUGH EIGHT SEC GAMES
• The Tigers are currently third in the SEC standings with a 6-2 conference record.
• The 6-2 start to league plays is Mizzou’s best-ever start through eight SEC games.
• It also matches the team’s best conference start in its last 25 years (also 2008-09 and 2011-12 in the Big 12) and best overall since a 7-1 start to the 1999-00 season.
TOUGH STRETCH
• Competing in the challenging SEC, Mizzou is in the middle of a challenging slate of games as it looks to improve its standing in the conference.
• Missouri has played two of four-straight games against nationally-ranked teams – a first for the program since 1957-58.
• The good news is the Tigers are 2-0 so far during the stretch with wins over No. 16 Ole Miss and No. 14 Mississippi State.
• On deck next are games against No. 4 Tennessee and No. 10 Texas A&M.
DOMINANT ROAD WIN
• Mizzou is coming off a convincing road win at No. 14 Mississippi State on Saturday, 88-61.
• The 27-point win is the largest in MU history over a ranked team on the road – surpassing the previous high of 13 (vs. No. 17 Kansas State in 1956).
• Overall, it is the second-largest win against a ranked team anywhere for Mizzou, trailing only a 39-point win over No. 20 California in 2011.
ROAD WARRIORS
• Saturday’s win at No. 14 Mississippi State wasn’t the team’s only marquee road win this season.
• The Tigers also won at No. 5 Florida on Jan. 7 – MU’s fifth-ever road win over a top-five school and first since defeating No. 3 Baylor in 2012.
• It’s the first time since 1999 that MU won multiple road games over ranked teams in the same year.
• The Tigers also joined Alabama and Kentucky as the only three schools with multiple road wins over top-15 teams this season.
• On Wednesday, Mizzou aims to win consecutive games over ranked teams on the road for the first time in its history.
NEARING A CAREER MILESTONE
• Mark Mitchell is within reach of a milestone.
• The junior enters Wednesday’s game with 968 points and is 32 shy of 1,000 for his career.
• Mitchell is looking to become the fifth current Tiger to reach the milestone (Marques Warrick, Tony Perkins, Tamar Bates and Caleb Grill).
THE GRILL IS ON FIRE
• Caleb Grill has been one of the nation’s hottest shooters as of late.
• Since fully returning from an injury that forced him to miss five games in December, Grill has been the team’s top scorer.
• In the last seven games, he is averaging 15.7 points, making half of his 3-pointers (26-52).
• Grill has also saved his best for the best. In his last three games versus ranked foes – all wins – he is tallying 21.3 points with 5.7 triples per game and shooting 56.7 percent from 3-point range (17-30).
