Everything Dennis Gates Said After Mizzou's Loss to Tennessee

Despite a late surge in the final few minuts of action, the No. 15-ranked Missouri Tigers were unable to upset the No. 4-ranked Tennessee Volunteers on the road.

The loss brings the Tigers to 17-5 overall and 6-3 in the SEC, while the Volunteers move up to 19-4 overall and 6-4 in the SEC.

Here's what Missouri coach Dennis Gates had to say following the 85-81 loss:

Opening statement

"Great matchup, a great game. I thought our guys came out the first half, executed the game plan. We minimized our mistakes on the road. I'm proud of our guys for doing that, I'm proud of our guys for stepping up. Those that played extra minutes, Ant Robinson was in foul trouble early, never really got going, but in the second half, that's when Tennessee was able to execute. I thought they ended up taking more risk behind the arc, taking quicker shots than they did in the first half. When you when you shoot 60% from the three in the second half, 50% from the field, that's where they won that game, and that probably first 10 minutes. I thought it took us too long to stabilize, and ultimately we did fight back, and that's what I'm proud of the most. I used the timeout late in the game, not to do anything else. The ball was bouncing, they wasn't taking it out. So at that point, I used the time out, and we got a turnover. I thought Grill got fouled, but I guess he didn't. We used it just for that situation, and I thought we were going to be able to get a turnover, which we did, and possibly a three or and-one three-point basket. So great game. We'll look at the film and see what else we can do to improve."

On making adjustments

"So the adjustments, when the team gets hot, you got to minimize their second chance points, which we did not do when they missed it. We didn't recover the rebound. Then, another part of it is their assist to turnover ratio was great simply because, out of 21 assists, out of 27 baskets, 21 was assisted. When you have that type of movement, and in addition to that, Zakai Zeigler is not shooting as well this season. He's at 27% from three, He went four-for-four, Jahmai Mashack ended up going one-for-one as well. Those are baskets that come back to haunt you, especially in those situations. So minimizing mistakes, and then the other part of it is executing in the one-on-one on our side when we get to the free-throw line. Tamar Bates, one of the best free throw shooters in the country, wasn't able to execute the front end of the bonus twice. So that's four points, possibly that was left on the board."

How culture has shifted

"Well, I think when you look at our roster, our roster is different. We're going to continue to stay committed to our values and things that we believe in, but the players that have returned, they've gotten better through player development. Also, the recruiting class that we had, you know, top three recruiting class in high school, and then obviously, we did a good job in the [transfer] portal. So I think the additions, in addition to that, our guys gelling and playing together is a result, and that's what you see."

On Zakai Zeigler, Chaz Lanier and Jordan Gainey

"Well, they're seasoned veterans. When you have those three guys on the court, and at the end of the day, remember Gainey was able to knock down a corner three. I thought he got got to the foul line as well. But the biggest thing is, though, that trio is a good trio. When you look across the conference, look across the country, those three are the reason, in addition to others, why they're a top five team. Why they were number one in the country for for several weeks and things like that. And then, you add Hall of Fame head coach to the equation. Those guys did a great job."

On only committing three turnovers

"We knew that Tennessee was going to be, quote unquote disruptive, when it comes down to their defense. They're one of the top teams in the country in defending and forcing turnovers. But we're very talented in our own right. We moved the ball. I just thought the things that we made a mistake in didn't come from turnovers. We didn't make turnovers, but we still made mistakes. And I'll go back and figure out what those collectively cost us. But, I just think for us to come in on the road, you know, we've been in different environments. To have a positive assist to turnover ratio is one of the reasons why we were leading in the first half, and also why we were able to come back in the game."

On Igor Milicic Jr.

"Well, time of possession. He's a low time of possession guy, doesn't require the ball in his hands for multiple seconds of a shot clock. He's effective. He was eight-for-ten from the field. Was able to knock down free throws, knock down threes. So he's a three level scorer, or a two level scorer when it comes down to basket points, second chance points, and also three-point baskets. The other part of it is he's a good passer. Five assists, three turnovers, and then he ended up protecting the rim on some blocks. I think he had about three or four blocks."

On Caleb Grill's performance

"I think ultimately, when you look at the gravity, he still had points on the board because of the gravity at which he commits himself to the basketball. I thought the tough three-point basket he had, you know, we got to do a better job screening bodies off of them. And I don't think tonight we screened well enough. I don't think he drew one foul ... he drew two fouls, and I thought he was moving without the basketball. Physical team, we didn't screen bodies off of them, and they did a good job."

On Anthony Robinson's II foul trouble

"Anthony Robinson [II] is very important to us. He picked up two fouls in the backcourt alone. And when you do that, that puts your team in a disadvantage. He can't take those risks that he's taken in the backcourt to try to get a steal, or the physicality, or the extra possession. ultimately, that's what put us in, I think, in a disadvantage. But, next man up. T.O. Barrett, came in, played early minutes. I thought he did well. Marques Warrick did well."

On Tony Perkins

"Tony Perkins is a good, good guard. He played 30 minutes, 16 points, five assists, five rebounds. Great stat line. I thought he did some wonderful things, but again, free throw percentage. He's got to be able to knock those free throws down, and I thought he wasn't able to do that."

On Perkins not taking 3-pointers in second half

"He got really tired, and he asked for a sub, and I got him back in. But, at the end of the day, I thought Tennessee made some adjustments. But also, Tony Perkins made some adjustments, because he just didn't settle for three-point baskets. I think went the three-point baskets he made was based off an extra pass, Mark Mitchell drive and a kick-out, and then a switch with the five man, and he was able to raise up because there was enough cushion."

On defensive mentality

"Defensively, I think our guys did a great job. On paper, numerically, we lost the rebound in battle. When you look at their rebounds versus ours, we had 60 field goals, 25 makes. You look at that, that's 35 opportunities for them to rebound. They got, you know, a good number of those. Right on the flip side of it, they ended up with 54 field goals. I thought we had opportunities to get the rebounds, and we didn't get those. Those are ones we got to secure. Their rebounding percentage was very high from offensive standpoint. When you force a team to 27 misses and they end up getting 11 offensive rebounds, they shot the basketball at a high percentage. So when you get those misses, you gotta secure the misses. We'll go back to the drawing board see what we got to do. But a great game, 17 minutes with the lead on the road is very important. They only had to lead for 20 minutes of the game. So when you look at from that perspective, it was a good ball game tonight, and my hats off to Tennessee."