No. 21 Mizzou's First Victory in March was an Essential Return to Form

The Missouri Tigers' spot and seed in the NCAA Tournament were close to set and stone ahead of the Southeastern Conference Tournament, but a win over No. 10 seed Mississippi State was the gritty, endurant performance that Dennis Gates' squad was in desperate need of.

Even if all it leads to is Missouri falling to No. 2 seed Florida in Round 3, Thursday's victory was a needed change of palette for the Tigers, who lost four out of their last five in the regular season.

Not only was it the perfect confidence booster, it also served as a confirmation that Missouri wasn't undergoing any sort of identity crisis in the skid to end the regular season. The same Missouri team that took down Mississippi State on Feb. 1 showed their form for the first time this March.

" I thought we played on our toes, not our heels," Gates said after the victory. "Our guys were quick and responsive and instinctual."

Mar 13, 2025; Nashville, TN, USA; Missouri Tigers center Josh Gray (33) fights through Mississippi State Bulldogs forward KeShawn Murphy (3) and guard Riley Kugel (2) during the first half at Bridgestone Arena. Mandatory Credit: Steve Roberts-Imagn Images | Steve Roberts-Imagn Images

Missouri was in control for most of the game. Even if Mississippi State trailed by five or less for all but the last 19 seconds of the second half, the Tigers stood firmly. There were seven lead changes and 13 ties in the tense closing half, but Missouri wasn't thrown off target.

"We didn't panic when Mississippi State took the lead in the second half," Gates said. "I thought our guys, you saw their experience, you saw them make big plays. I didn't have to really use all my timeouts. I allowed them to get through it. They got through it and did a great job against the press late."

In contrast to Missouri's composure against Kentucky in its regular season finale, the ability to close out the victory was especially reassuring.

Missouri was on the other side of a comeback attempt against Kentucky, trailing by six with 1:48 left. Missouri didn't hold a lead at all in the final 30 minutes of the game. After pulling within six points late, the Tigers allowed five unanswered from Kentucky, ruining any chances at a comeback.

The loss to Kentucky was just the second home loss of the year for Missouri. After a 6-2 start to SEC play, there were new expectations placed upon the Tigers. It changed the conversation around the team.

"Respect has changed, so now our responsibility as a program has to change," Gates said after the loss to Kentucky. "Our emotional capacity has to continue to grow."

Mar 8, 2025; Columbia, Missouri, USA; Missouri Tigers guard Anthony Robinson II (2) loses control of the ball during a game against the Kentucky Wildcats at Mizzou Arena. | Amber Winkler/MissouriOnSI

It's not like Missouri completely fell off the face of the earth in the last two weeks of the regular season, but the team did notice something was missing.

"I think we had kind of that mentality that we wanted to prove everybody, and we were doing a lot of the little things," guard Caleb Grill said Tuesday of Missouri's early success. "We were helping one another on defense, which maybe doesn't show up in the stat sheet."

At least some of that defensive communication returned for Missouri against Mississippi State. It still wasn't the best performance out of the unit, but the Tigers did hold Mississippi State to 73 points after allowing over 90 points in their four most recent losses.

"I just saw us communicating," guard Tamar Bates said of the defensive performance against the Bulldogs. "I saw us flying around, helping each other. That's things we've done throughout the season. We just got away from it a little bit."

Missouri's strong start to the conference slate was highlighted by a win over then-No. 5 Florida on the road in an 83-82 upset. Friday night, the Tigers will again meet the Gators, this time in Round 3 of the SEC Tournament.

The win in Florida on Jan. 14 put the world on notice to the Tigers' potential — it earned Missouri a spot in the AP Top 25 for the first time since the conclusion of the 2022-2023 season.

A win over Florida to advance would again be a statement for Missouri. Another sign of its stability, and evidence against regression.

Mississippi State was the first team this season that Missouri beat twice. The Tigers went 0-3 against their repeat opponents in the regular season.

Bulldogs head coach Chris Jans now knows too well the ability of the Tigers. He spoke of their potential when his team first fell to Missouri, and felt validated after Thursday night's matchup.

"They're really, really good," Jans said. "To be honest with you, they're built for this kind of tournament, with playing consecutive days, quick turnarounds, having that many pieces to work with, that kind of depth. Wouldn't surprise me if they continued on winning."

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