Dennis Gates Explains Mizzou's Late-Game Fall to Georgia

Missouri was unable to land a buzzer-beater attempt.

Jan 20, 2026; Columbia, Missouri, USA; Georgia Bulldogs guard Marcus Millender (4) shoots the game winning layup as Missouri Tigers center Shawn Phillips Jr. (15) defends during the second half of the game at Mizzou Arena. Mandatory Credit: Denny Medley-Imagn Images | Denny Medley-Imagn Images

COLUMBIA, Mo. — In the final 14 minutes of Missouri's loss to No. 21 Georgia, no team held a lead of more than five points.

After trailing for more than five minutes, Missouri sank a 3 to take a 72-71 lead with just 18 seconds remaining. But the final two possessions took the game out of Missouri's hands, dropping the Tigers to 3-3 in SEC play.

Seconds after Missouri made the 3 on a jumper to take the lead, Georgia called its final timeout to prepare for its final possession. Not even a full second later, Gates called his final timeout to make final adjustments.

Out of the timeout, Georgia guard Marcus Millender drove underneath Missouri center Shawn Phillips Jr. to lay in what ended up being the game-winning shot that also resulted in a free-throw make for the Bulldogs thanks to an and-one.

"That last possession, tough shot," Gates said. "We got the switch to defend the basket, and he just went underneath Shawn Phillips Jr.'s arm. ... It was a tough situation. We had a 7'11" defending a 5'11" guard in the paint. He made a difficult shot."

NO. 21 @UGABasketball HOLDS ON IN THE FINAL SECONDS AGAINST MISSOURI 😤

The Tigers had a shot to win it 👀 pic.twitter.com/jZHb0yYJcM

— SEC Network (@SECNetwork) January 21, 2026

Missouri was in need of two points with 5.5 seconds remaining, but no timeouts to give the Tigers extra time to operate. Missouri ran the same look it had on its last possession when Jacob Crews made the 3 to take the lead.

Guard T.O. Barrett raced it up the court and had the option to either create a layup opportunity or to give Crews a chance at a game-winner, according to Gates.

"Our players knew what to do," Gates said of Missouri's final possession. "We got a shot off. It was a tough shot, but it was something that we had ran before. And we had an option to get the layup with the drive and T.O. just opted for the shot, and I understand that."

Unable to earn its second ranked win, Missouri is running out of oxygen for its hopes on the season quickly. Tuesday's loss marked the end of the first third of Missouri's SEC schedule, which included upset victories over Florida and at Kentucky.

It also included a puzzling loss at LSU and one at Ole Miss that included self-inflicted wounds.

Entering the second third of SEC play, Gates has a bar set for the Tigers.

"In conference play right now, we got to be able to stay above .500 in the next six games," Gates said. "That's the art of a full season. Try to stay healthy. Understand wins are going to come and go. You got to be able to bounce back."

Missouri will start that stretch Saturday, hosting Oklahoma at 1 p.m.