Mizzou Looking for Chance to 'Redeem' Itself in Front of St. Louis Crowd

ST. LOUIS — Just because Missouri will play in the state and in its largest market to begin the NCAA Tournament, Dennis Gates isn't viewing the Tigers' Round 1 game against Miami as a "home game."

"I don't view anything as a home game because it is not at Mizzou Arena on Norm Stewart Court," Gates said in a press conference Thursday. "I can't project the ticket sales. We look at it as the NCAA
Tournament. And NCAA Tournament is all about neutral sites."

While it's difficult to imagine the crowd in the Enterprise Center will be anything close to neutral, Missouri isn't planning on leaning on that possible advantage.

"Being this close to home is pretty cool, having the home-crowd advantage," forward Mark Mitchell said. "A tournament is a tournament. The location can't play for us."

Miami head coach Jai Lucas, however, is expecting and treating the game as a road game for the Hurricanes. Miami went 8-2 on the road this season.

"We expect this to be like a road game," Lucas said. "We're treating it like a real road game. We have to go and earn and take our respect like we have done the whole year."

Miami is anticipating that the crowd advantage could play into Missouri's ability to swing the momentum of a game with a quick run, according to Miami associate head coach C.Y. Young, who spent the three previous seasons on Missouri's staff.

"They can go on a six, eight-point run like that," Young said, snapping his fingers. "They're volatile, especially with them sending us to St. Louis and this place and the impact for Missouri, we got to find a way to take care of the ball. Next thing you know, the game is on fire."

Missouri also recognizes the potential to exorcise the demons they faced at the Enterprise Center on Dec. 22, when the Tigers suffered a crushing, 43-point loss to No. 20 Illinois.

"I see it as a game for us to redeem ourselves here," forward Trent Pierce said.

Missouri has turned its season around after that loss, where the Tigers looked like a far cry from a team that would be capable of qualifying for the NCAA Tournament. The way Missouri responded to that loss has given them the chance to play in this building again.

"After we played here, we went home and we met as a team, we met with the coaching staff and
psychologist, and really just kind of talked about what does it look like going into SEC play for us," forward Mark Mitchell said. "I think that really helped us just kind of get things off our chest. And the frustration we had, and it really."

Missouri Tigers forward Mark Mitchell looks on from the bench in the first half of Missouri's loss to Illinois. — Dec. 22, 2025: St. Louis, Missouri, USA; Missouri Tigers forward Mark Mitchell looks on from the bench in the first half of Missouri's loss to Illinois at the Enterprise Center. | Sam Simon/MissouriOnSI

For freshman forward Nicholas Randall, Missouri's game location meant a homecoming for the St. Louis native. In his first three years of high school, he was a part of a Vashon High School team that won three straight state championships.

"Personally, I was filled with gratitude," Randall told Missouri On SI of his reaction to getting to play in St. Louis. "I was so happy to see that I was able to play in St Louis, and then for me to experience it with my team, especially as a freshman my first year is just the best."

Randall is planning to get as much family and friends through the door as he "can get." From his personal group of supporters, and the rest of the Missouri crowd, he's expecting the Tigers to get a boost.

"It is a rare environment to get, but especially being in my hometown and like our home state, we have a great home-court advantage," Randall said. "So it's gonna fuel us a lot."

Nicholas Randall celebrates — Nov 9, 2025; Columbia, Missouri, USA; Missouri Tigers freshman Nicholas Randall (24) celebrates the first dunk of his career in a game against VMI Mizzou Arena. | Amber Winkler/MissouriOnSi

On a team that has had fluctuating lineups throughout the season, Randall has had to be ready to step in at any moment.

He appeared in 21 games this season, including in 12 Southeastern Conference games. Getting that in-game experience allowed him to better know how to translate practice time to the court.

"I played like sporadically, so like, just getting those reps in practice, makes it even easier for the game," Randall said. "So going against people like Mark and Shawn (Phillips Jr.) every day gets me ready for when I do get into the game, having that stay-ready mentality."

Who Missouri will need to call on against Miami is no guarantee with how the lineups have been utilized this season.

Missouri will have its chance to redefine the role the city of St. Louis will play in its season at 9:10 p.m. Friday when it takes on the Hurricanes.

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