Mizzou Close to Agreement to Play Saint Louis at the Enterprise Center, Per Report

Missouri men's basketball and Saint Louis University are finalizing an agreement to play a neutral-site game at the Enterprise Center in St. Louis on Nov. 6 during the upcoming season, per a report from Jon Rothstein.

The possible game would mark the first meeting between the two programs since the 2001-02 season. Missouri leads the series against its in-state foes at 21-19.

The potential pairing of the two teams comes after Saint Louis' best postseason run in over a decade, with the Billikens earning a No. 9 seed before losing to the eventual national champions, Michigan, in Round 2.

Missouri is already set to play in three neutral-site games for the 2026-27 season, having deals to play Kansas at the T-Mobile Center in Kansas City, Illinois at the Enterprise Center and, reportedly, Marquette at the United Center in Chicago.

Additionally, Missouri has a home game scheduled against Howard as part of a home-and-home agreement. The Tigers will also participate in the ACC/SEC Challenge. If the agreement with SLU is finalized, Missouri will need to find seven more non-conference opponents.

After having one of the easiest non-conference schedules in the country in the 2025-26 season, head coach Dennis Gates intentionally wanted to set up a slate for 2026-27 that could give the Tigers' more opportunities to boost their resume early in the season.

The motivation for Gates came from the expansion of the NCAA Tournament field from 68 to 76 teams. With the expansion, Gates believes the bar to clear for overall record in order to make the tournament will be lessened, but the potential boost in resume in high-profile non-conference games will be just as great.

"When you look at scheduling, you have to mesh it with where the selection committee is," Gates said Wednesday night at a 'ZOU to YOU' fan event in St. Louis. "So with the addition of spots in the NCAA Tournament, I think we got to do, and I have to increase our strength of schedule, because opportunity to get in there as a, not only a 20-win team, but something near below is definitely going to be there."

The reported addition of the Billikens to Missouri's schedule adds even more anticipation to what is already a highly-anticipated season for the Tigers, with the program bringing in one of the highest-rated freshman and transfer portal classes in the country.

Sign up for our free newsletter and follow us on Twitter/X, Facebook, YouTube and Instagram for the latest news.

Add us as a preferred source on Google