No. 7 Seed Mizzou Survives No. 10 Seed Mississippi State to Advance in SEC Tournament

The Missouri Tigers took down the Bulldogs to advance to round three of the SEC Tournament.

Mar 13, 2025; Nashville, TN, USA; Missouri Tigers guard Tony Perkins (12) drives to the basket against the Mississippi State Bulldogs during the first half at Bridgestone Arena. Mandatory Credit: Steve Roberts-Imagn Images | © Steve Roberts-Imagn Images

NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Tamar Bates and the No. 7 seed Missouri Tigers knew that the No. 10 seed Mississippi State Bulldogs were going to want to play a "football game" in the second round of the Southeastern Conference Tournament.

The Bulldogs drug the Tigers into their cage Thursday night, leading to a physical dog fight.

Missouri ultimately escaped from the leash of Mississippi State, however, advancing with a 85-73 victory. The win sets up Missouri for a rematch with the No. 2 seed Florida Gators in Round 3 on Friday night.

Mississippi State only trailed by four with 1:56 left, with the score at 71-75. But, in the biggest moment, Missouri answered with six unanswered points, four of which came on consecutive free-throw makes from Bates.

Bates led the offensive effort for Missouri in the game, totlaing 25 points while shooting 8-for-12 from the field and grabbing four rebounds.

The win advances Missouri to the third round of the Tournament, where they will take on No. 2 seed Florida Friday night. The one time the Tigers took on the Gators this season, the Tigers upset the then-No. 4 ranked Gators in a 83-82 victory.

Missouri outpaced the Bulldogs offensively in the first half, making over half its field goal attempts, but Mississippi State stayed within striking distance by getting gritty. The Bulldogs turned eight offensive rebounds into nine second-chance points and turned nine Tiger turnovers into eight points to limit Missouri's shot attempts and maximize their own offensive possessions.

"They were physical on both ends of the floor. It's tough to beat a team like that," Missouri guard Caleb Grill said. "They pride themselves on playing physical. So we've just got to be the ones to punch first and be the ones to hit first and that was kind of our mentality going into the game."

One area of concern for Missouri exiting this victory is the health of Third team All-SEC forward Mark Mitchell, who exited the game after suffering a right knee injury in the first half.

In the absence of the 6-foot-9 starter, Missouri saw important contributions from 6-foot-9 Aidan Shaw, who played 12 minutes in the second half. He grabbed four rebounds, landed a 3-point make and created a highlight-worthy block in those 12 minutes.

The win in the postseason was a needed boost for Missouri, who lost four of its last five games of the regular season. In that skid, Missouri consistently struggled in three areas; gifting teams free-throw opportunities, defending the paint and closing out games.

Those areas weren't completely cured Thursday night, but the Tigers did find themselves on the better end of each.

On free-throw attempts, Mississippi State took 27 attempts, lower than the 33 or 37 Kentucky or Arkansas respectively managed against the Tigers.

In the paint, Missouri still allowed 30 points inside the paint to a physical Mississippi State team, 18 of which came in the first half.

Finally, the late-game situations were a focus for Missouri heading into the postseason, and the Tigers held their foot down to close out this victory despite multiple attempts from the Bulldogs to bite their way out of the cage.

Missouri will tip off against Florida at 6 p.m. Friday night. If Missouri advances to round four, it will be the farthest Missouri has traveled in the SEC Tournament since