Dennis Gates Believes Home Advantage is Evolving; The Buzz, Tuesday, Feb. 25, 2025

Your daily briefing on what's going on with Mizzou athletics, including full TV listings.

Feb 22, 2025; Fayetteville, Arkansas, USA; Missouri Tigers head coach Dennis Gates during the first half against the Arkansas Razorbacks at Bud Walton Arena. Mandatory Credit: Nelson Chenault-Imagn Images | Nelson Chenault-Imagn Images

Last season, Mizzou Arena's energy was nothing compared to what it is now.

How could it not be? The Missouri Tigers finished 0-18 in the SEC, and the fan interest only dipped as the year moved along. So now that the program is 9-5 in the conference, it's no surprise that the home crowd has become more of an advantage.

"I think when you look at the history of our program, our fans have been tremendous. It's one of the things that makes this a great basketball job," coach Dennis Gates said. "It's one of the reasons why the SEC invited Missouri into the conference."

The next step comes down to the players themselves. Not only have they bought into the program and direction that Gates has built, but they've embraced the community of Columbia. When you have players that can represent the community in a strong way, that helps improve the culture surrounding the team.

The other side of the fans — that being the abundance of people in the student section — help create a large part of the noise inside Mizzou Arena. Between these areas, the Tigers have an environment that rivals the rest of the SEC.

"I'm just impressed with the amount of connectivity that our fans have. Students, non students, those that make the sacrifice to come from Kansas City or St. Louis in the middle of the week," Gates said. "It's a great home court advantage, and when you look around the country, is one of the top environments I believe in college basketball coach."

Today's Schedule

• Missouri baseball vs. Lindenwood at 4 p.m. in Columbia, Mo. — Listen, Stats, Preview
• Missouri men's basketball vs. South Carolina at 8 p.m. in Columbia, Mo. — Watch, Listen, Stats

Mizzou Results

• Women's golf vs. Westbrook Invitational in Peoria, Ariz., 7th place finish of 14 — Recap, Results

Did you notice?

• Missouri football running back Ahmad Hardy sports a unique offseason workout:

Consistency in Mizzou riding ‼️‼️ pic.twitter.com/dzY1IDWw3u

— Ahmad hardy (@Ahmadhardy29) February 24, 2025

• Missouri men's basketball guard Marques Warrick gets the Senior Spotlight this week:

"He believed that he could help this basketball team go all the way to the NCAA Tournament. And not just win one game or two games but go all the way"

Learn more about @mtwarrick3 and his path to Mizzou in our next Senior Spotlight#MIZ 🐯 pic.twitter.com/AymNJCGrfZ

— Mizzou Hoops (@MizzouHoops) February 24, 2025

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Read more Missouri Tigers news:

Dennis Gates Praises Projected Lottery Draft Pick Ahead of Matchup with South Carolina
Mizzou Center Taken Off Injury Report for South Carolina Matchup
Three Things to Know: No. 14 Mizzou Faces South Carolina