Gates Explains How Injuries are Holding Mizzou Back After Loss to Illinois

ST. LOUIS — Dennis Gates' eyebrows raised when he heard the word choice of "struggles" in a question regarding a recent drop off in perimeter offense for Missouri that was evident in a loss to Illinois.

"You said 'struggles'?" Gates asked.

"You know, I can't wait to get healthy as a team," Gates said to answer the question.

With three of its players injured, Missouri suffered a 91-48 loss to No. 20 Illinois on Monday. It's the lowest-scoring performance in any game in the Gates era. It's the lowest-scoring output for Missouri in the series since a matchup in the 1943-44 season.

There's no way to sugarcoat how poor of a performance it was for the Tigers. The cracks in the foundation that have been popping since the season opener at Howard are continuing to break through even more.

But Gates believes returning those thee players will begin to patch up those cracks and get Missouri closer to its full potential.

"It's like pieces of puzzles," Gates said. "Our entire team has been put together a certain way. ... So we have guys playing playing well, but playing out of position due to our injuries, and ultimately, I'm excited about getting healthy. You cannot ask our players to do more than what they've done. I take it on my shoulders, as the leader, as the head coach, it's on me. This game is on me."

The most impactful of the absences has been guard Jayden Stone, who has now missed each of the last seven games with a hand injury. He provided a scoring spark off the bench, including from the perimeter, when he was healthy. His initial timeline for return set him to return to the court for SEC play at the latest.

Meanwhile, forward Trent Pierce has missed the entirety of his junior season so far with an undisclosed injury. No specific timeline has been given for his return.

Additionally, Missouri faced another surprising hit against the Fighting Illini with forward Jevon Porter missing the game with a leg injury.

Between Stone and Porter, Missouri is missing a combined average of 19.2 points and 8.5 rebounds per game. Plus the length of Pierce, who started in 19 games last season.

Gates believes Missouri is hurting not only from the absence of those three players alone, but also from the domino effect it is having on the lineups. Specifically with the offensive spacing that Stone brings that creates opportunities for other players on the offense.

"When you lose a guy (Pierce) that has not played this season and he's a starter in the SEC, that's a (missing) advantage with length, shooting ability," Gates said. "Jayden Stone, the same way, look at his percentage. You have to have both Stone and (Jacob) Crews in the game to open up things."

Dec22, 2025; St. Louis, Missouri, USA; Missouri Tigers forward Jacob Crews (35) high fives guard T.O. Barrett (35) during the first half of a game against the Illinois Fighting Illini at the Enterprise Center. | Sam Simon/MissouriOnSi

The injuries have forced other players into roles not originally expected, stretching the roster thin.

"But in the meantime, in the process of getting healthy, we got to have guys fill in the blanks and be utility guys and do something that we may not have planned for you to do," Gates said. "Some may take the opportunity as a way to get on the court, some may not."

Gates specifically highlighted wanting the guys who were being asked to do more to do a better job of defending the 3-point line, where Illinois shot 45% from. He also highlighted wanting center Luke Northweather to be more agressive offensively in Porter's absence.

Monday night's absence for Porter meant more opportunities for true freshman forward Nicholas Randall, who appeared in 13 minutes. He grabbed two rebounds in that time.

But Porter and Pierce's absence was still painfully obvious on the glass. Missouri was out-rebounded 43-24 and gave up 29 second-chance points while only scoring five of their own, a key disparity in the loss. The dominance on the glass for Illinois was crucial to the Fighting Illini going on a 14-5 run to end the first half. Gates attributed the second-chance points to Illinois being able to execute consistently on the opportunities and Missouri getting out of rotation too often.

"The second-chance points that we gave up, they executed on every single one of them, and that's what hurt us," Gates said. "That's what ignited their run. And I just thought our guys at that point, hit a wall."

Gates isn't letting the injuries, nor Monday's blowout loss affect his perception of what the team is capable of. With optimism that at least Stone and Porter could return at the start of SEC play, he's hoping his team will look closer to the original picture he had in mind.

"I think our team is a good team, man," Gates said. "We can win games as we have, without certain guys, and we'll continue to piece it together."

That piecing together will need to come quick. In non-conference play, Missouri did not earn any sort of notch for a possible bid in the NCAA Tournament. Though the Tigers finish the slate 10-3, Missouri went 1-3 against high-major opponents in that. The loss to Illinois was one that draws even more questions on what the Tigers are truly capable of this season.

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