Mizzou Projected to Return Second-Most Minutes in SEC for 2025-26 Season

With all the conversation surrounding Missouri's transfer portal process, the Tigers are returning plenty of production.

Feb. 9, 2025; Columbia, Missouri, USA; Missouri Tigers guard Anthony Robinson II, forward Mark Mitchell, guard Jacob Crews and guard Marques Warrick (left to right) against the Texas A&M Aggies at Mizzou Arena. / Amber Winkler/ Missouri On SI | Amber Winkler/Missouri on SI

The Missouri Tigers have seen some changes to their roster for next season. But, for the most part, multiple key tenets of the program are back for another season under head coach Dennis Gates.

Advanced analytic stats back that up as well. According to Bart Torvik's analytics, the Tigers are slated to return the second-most minutes in the entire Southeastern Conference, behind only the Arkansas Razorbacks. This could be the explanation as to why Gates and the Tigers were not as active in the transfer portal.

Missouri's approach to this offseason centered around who was returning, not who was coming in. Not many teams can return players like the Tigers did, so in many ways, where they stand in Torvik's analytic rankings makes perfect sense.

The returning minutes stat is topped by the Arkansas Razorbacks at 59.3%, with the Tigers following behind after a large gap at 35.9%. After Missouri, Vanderbilt and Texas follow closely behind at 35.6% and 35.4%, respectively.

In a similar fashion, the Tigers are second, behind Arkansas, in returning possession minutes. Arkansas is bringing back 56.1% possession minutes and Missouri is far behind at 39.4%.

Below is a look at where the rest of the SEC stands in returning minutes, returning possession minutes and projected transfer production. The transfer production statistic measures a player's production at their old school and adds that to a score for the overall value.

Team	Returning minutes	Returning possession minutes	Projected transfer production
Alabama	14.7%	14.8%	114
Arkansas	59.3%	56.1%	122
Auburn	14%	16.3%	272
Florida	28.7%	24.5%	78
Georgia	31.4%	26.6%	231
Kentucky	30.5%	32.2%	265
LSU	18.4%	8.9%	302
Ole Miss	15.3%	15.3%	238
Mississippi State	29.1%	29%	204
Missouri	35.9%	39.4%	147
Oklahoma	11.1%	9.8%	262
South Carolina	18.3%	9.6%	276
Tennessee	22.5%	17.3%	182
Texas	35.4%	30%	179
Texas A&M	0.7%	0.4%	318
Vanderbilt	35.6%	29.6%	320

Nationally, Gates' squad isn't exactly dominating the returning minutes stat. Nine programs are set to return 70% or more of their minutes from last season. Power 5 programs aren't able to compete with that number anymore, so having smaller programs such as Navy or Howard at the top of this list makes sense.

The Purdue Boilermakers are right outside of the 70% threshold at 69.7%, returning the most production of any Power 5 team by far. For context, the next closest squad to them is Arkansas, around 10% lower.

These squads don't even compare to Missouri when it comes to player and production retention. They're around 35% lower than Purdue and around 24% lower than Arkansas. That being said, both of those teams and other power conference programs that are at the top of that list are returning some of their stars and the nation's best players.

Missouri might not be returning any stars, but the players coming back could certainly have breakout seasons. The man at the top of that list is senior forward Mark Mitchell, who averaged 13.9 points and 4.7 rebounds per game en-route to earning a spot on the All-SEC Third Team last season.

Mitchell will have the reins to the offense next season and could certainly emerge as one of the SEC's best players. The same could be said for rising junior point guard Anthony Robinson II, who also had the best season of his career, earning him a spot on the SEC All-Defensive Team.

Gates is also bringing back three members of his five-man freshman class from 2024, which was one of the best in the country. Guards Annor Boateng and T.O. Barrett, along with big man Trent Burns, all could see expanded roles this season. None of them were particularly productive during their freshman campaigns, which doesn't allow for them to appear in the returning minutes stat in a significant way.

"Recruiting our own guys is very important," Gates said in a press conference April 29. "I'm excited about this group that we have returning."

Another one of those returners is graduate senior guard Jacob Crews. His first season in Columbia after making the move from UT-Martin may not have gone to his plans, but his faith in Missouri's coaches, along with a little help from an NCAA ruling, gave him all the reasons in the world to return.

“They believe it too, the coaches that believe it too, [that’s] exactly why I'm coming back,” Crews said following Missouri's NCAA tournament loss to Drake. “I understand what my role was this year.”

At the end of the day, players are returning to play for Gates for a reason. Whether it's his leadership, relationship-building, or coaching, Gates has his core of players engaged in building a foundation for the team and continuing their success from last season.

"When you play for a coach like Gates, that instills confidence in you," Mitchell said in a press conference on February 24.

Now, Missouri has a chance to make a splash in the SEC next season with a team full of players who have experience with each other. The roster might not entail a group of flashy new transfers or high-powered freshmen, but now, with a year of experience in the conference under their belts, the Tigers have the opportunity to emerge as one of the league's best.