Mizzou's First SEC Tournament Opponent Revealed

NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Missouri will meet up again with Kentucky to begin the Tigers’ run in the SEC Tournament, after the No. 9-seeded Wildcats’ advanced with a win over No.16 seed LSU on Wednesday morning.

The Tigers and Wildcats will tip off at 11:30 a.m. Thursday at Bridgestone Arena. The game will be broadcast on the SEC Network. The winner will advance to take on the top seed in the tournament, Florida, on Friday.

Missouri will hope to replicate what was one of its best wins of the season, a 73-68 win over Kentucky at Rupp Arena on Jan. 7. Mark Mitchell led the Tigers with 21 points, while Jayden Stone added 20. Missouri trailed by eight with 4:37 remaining, but the Tigers closed the game with a 15-2 run to take the road victory.

Since that game at Kentucky though, Missouri has changed significantly as a team. The Tigers have had two changes to the starting lineup since then that have both made huge impacts, with guard T.O. Barrett and forward Trent Pierce both earning spots in the starting lineup since. Redshirt freshman center Trent Burns also started to develop into a meaningful contributor in the final stretch of conference play.

The flexibility and in-season development Missouri has undergone in the last two months has put them in position to earn a spot in the NCAA Tournament, a result that seemed incredibly unlikely after the Tigers’ suffered a 43-point loss to Illinois to end non-conference play.

“When you look at our changes in our lineups, I've had to coach kids in a way of getting them prepared to be a starter, but also getting those that used to start in a prepared way to get them to be a contributor,” head coach Dennis Gates said in a press conference Tuesday. “And it all just says, be prepared when your name’s called. Be prepared when your number’s called. And that's real coaching to me, because a lot of people would lose their team with the amount of changes that we have made this year for the sake of the team.”

The Kentucky game was one of the highs of an up-and-down season for the Tigers, but Missouri is coming off a strong February, earning two ranked wins to put itself in a good spot to make the NCAA Tournament. The Tigers did end the regular season, however, with two losses, including an overtime loss to No. 20 Arkansas to end the regular season.

Entering the postseason, Gates is hoping the Tigers can consistently reach the level they reached in the crucial wins throughout conference play.

“Once you get there (the postseason), you hope that you've instilled the details, the discipline that it takes to win championships,” Gates said.