3 Takeaways from Mizzou's 2-Game Bounce-Back

Dennis Gates wanted Missouri to pull its 'big boy pants' up in the two-game home-stand.

Missouri guard Anthony Robinson II (0) celebrates after a basket during a NCAA men's basketball game against Notre Dame at Purcell Pavilion on Tuesday, Dec. 2, 2025, in South Bend. | MICHAEL CLUBB/SOUTH BEND TRIBUNE / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Missouri closed out its home section of non-conference play Saturday, earning a 82-60 win over Bethune-Cookman. The Tigers also earned a 85-77 win over Alabama State Thursday.

The back-to-back wins came off the heels of Missouri's first two losses on the season, falling to both Notre Dame and Kansas on the road.

Both losses were concerning performances from Missouri. But head coach Dennis Gates viewed the consecutive losses as a bump in the road to learn from, not a complete stoppage.

"That does not mean we're defined by two games," Gates said following the win over Alabama State. "What it means is we got to get to the drawing board, pull our big boy pants up, and figure out the things that hurt us and eliminate them, eradicate it, and get back to our rhythm."

Missouri was able to start pulling up its "big boy pants" in the two wins, though there's still plenty of questions for this team to figure out. The road will only get more difficult from here, as the Tigers will face Illinois to close out non-conference play before taking on the gauntlet of the SEC.

Here's three takeaways from the two wins for Missouri.

Ant is crawling up

Entering this season, it seemed like Missouri's success would largely hinge on the development guard Anthony Robinson II would make in his junior season. Robinson didn't exactly hit the ground running, still struggling to stay out of foul trouble and not performing like the opportunistic offensive playmaker he has the potential to be.

Gates thought Robinson was holding himself back offensively by playing too much in his head.

"I think too often we're analytically frozen instead of using instincts," Gates said of Robinson ahead of the Alabama State game. "I want these guys to use their instincts and stop trying to be perfect. ... You can't play it thinking as much as those guys are, because at that point you stagnate your instincts."

In the last two games, Robinson has seemingly begun to hit his stride. He scored 19 against Alabama State and 15 against Bethune-Cookman, marking just the second and third time this season he scored 15 or more points. In the two games combined, he's also created 12 assists and grabbed eight total rebounds.

Based on Robinson's play, he took the notes of needing to play more free. He's looked more agressive on both ends of the court.

"Playing on my instincts is who I am," Robinson said. "So I'm not trying to worry about any missed shots or what happened there. ... Playing more minutes than I did last year, it's gonna be ups and downs, but I gotta stay level headed."

Last season, Robinson averaged 23 minutes per game. He's taken on a larger role this year with the expectations for his development, plus the departure of Tamar Bates. Even though he was a starter last year, it still does require an adjustment, according to Gates.

"I think he's just settling it in, learning how to play 30 minutes," Gates said of Robinson. "Plus getting into game shape ... Not the physical, the mental and emotional playing through fatigue, being able to make the right plays when you're tired, being able to understand when to rest."

Missouri has also been trying to put Robinson in the best situations by putting sophomore guard T.O. Barrett on the court at the same time.

"He can assume some of those defensive responsibilities, but also ball handling responsibilities," Gates said of Barrett playing with Robinson. "I think Ant is learning where his spots and spaces are." 

Changes in the starting lineup

Missouri's starting lineup has looked slightly different over the last three games, with Annor Boateng taking Sebastian Mack's spot, and Jacob Crews taking Jevon Porter's spot.

Whether these two changes will continue is uncertain. Porter was "under the weather" throughout the week, according to Gates. Mack was demoted after Gates thought some "accountability" was needed for the UCLA transfer after he made an error in studying the scouting report for Notre Dame. But Mack hasn't returned to the starting lineup since.

Boateng has had bright moments through this opportunity. He grabbed four rebounds and scored on two 3-point makes against Bethune-Cookman.

"I think he allows the game to get to him, come to him and not chase the game," Gates said of Boateng. "Those shots that he received were opportunity shots that he was prepared to knock down. ... He just gives us versatility on both sides of the ball."

Crews made the most of his first two starts in his time with Missouri, scoring 20 points in both. He grabbed a total of nine rebounds across the two games.

Defense taking steps

Missouri's defense has the size to be elite, but in the three games leading up to the Bethune-Cookman win, the Tigers had a few too many lulls defensively.

It cost them against Notre Dame and Kansas, and almost did against Alabama State too. Missouri allowed the Hornets to score 10 unanswered en route to outscoring Missouri 23-12 in the final 12 minutes of the game.

Against Bethune-Cookman, however, Missouri was consistently sound, but also agressive on defense. Bethune-Cookman shot 42.2% from the field and gave up 16 turnovers.

"Just trying to be intense and being on our lines and our gaps, preventing easy drives, but also containing the 3s," Barrett said of what the team focused on defensively.

Mitchell believes it was one of Missouri's best defensive performances of the season, and Gates nodded in agreement.

"Coach has been challenging us the last couple days, just to fix some things, get back to being disciplined, get back to our habits and things like that," Mitchell said of the defense. "Just from start to finish, not as many lulls, and just trying to keep the intensity the whole time."