Tamar Bates, Caleb Grill Lift No. 22 Mizzou Over No. 16 Ole Miss in Bounce Back Game

Mizzou Arena continues to be the place the Missouri Tigers win, as they got past the Ole Miss Rebels in an eight-point victory.

Jan 25, 2025; Columbia, Missouri, USA; Missouri Tigers guard Tamar Bates (2) dunks the ball against Mississippi Rebels guard Jaylen Murray (5) during the first half at Mizzou Arena. Mandatory Credit: Jay Biggerstaff-Imagn Images / Jay Biggerstaff-Imagn Images

Entering the visiting locker room after an offensive mess against the Texas Longhorns Tuesday night, the spirit of the No. 22-ranked Missouri Tigers' was in need of a boost.

Freshman Peyton Marshall didn't receive a single minute of playing time — nor did he against the No. 16-ranked Ole Miss Rebels — but it was he who spoke the loudest after the loss. Coach Dennis Gates hadn't even entered the locker room by the time Marshall wrapped up his speech, and by then, nothing else needed to be said.

Once Gates started to speak, Marshall simply said, "coach, I already said what I have to say."

The practices, film sessions and preparation for Saturday night's matchup with the Tigers left zero doubt that Marshall said enough. All they needed was a game plan.

Keeping its win streak at home alive, Missouri knocked off Ole Miss 83-75 Saturday evening. Back in the environment that it's found success in all-season long, it led for 31:52 of the 40 minutes of action.

Through the ebbs and flows of a game layered with fouls and hot streaks of offense, one thing remained certain: Tamar Bates and Caleb Grill were going to get their's.

Missouri's offense wasn't at its best, but the guard tandem was ever present during the night by combining for 48 points. Bates led the way with 26 points on 8-of-13 shooting — 10 of which came in the first six minutes of the contest — and consistently remained a factor. Meanwhile, Grill's 22 points, including five 3-pointers, stuffed the stat sheet for the bench unit.

"Bates and Grill had special games," Rebels coach Chris Beard said. "Those are two of the best players in the league, they had A-plus performances tonight."

Ole Miss never quite backed down from the Tigers even when the lead started to sway in Missouri's favor. But once Bates pulled up for a 3-pointer to put it up 73-63 at the 2:41 mark, it all but sealed the fate of the Rebels.

A noticeable difference compared to most games this season was the Tigers' ability to win on the glass. They had a 11-5 advantage with offensive boards, yet they only came away with eight second-chance points. Instead, a 11-of-25 clip from behind the arc helped carry much of the brunt of the scoring, a much stronger outing than the Rebels' 6-of-20.

"I think our guys run routes that are very indicative of stopping the transition, but only the transit. You got to get the ball first," Gates said on the rebounding performance. "We gave up 20-plus second chance points last game, and we didn't want that same thing to happen tonight."

Another big separator was the free-throw line, in which Missouri received far more attempts. Though a whopping 28-of-38 was a less than efficient night, Ole Miss' 13-of-18 gave it less of an opportunity to break up the score. Anthony Robinson II fouled out amid other Tigers dealing with foul troubles, but that didn't prevent an eventual win.

Jumping out to an 8-0 lead, Ole Miss was in real possibility of creating a massive lead early on in the game. Jaylen Murray and Sean Pedulla knocked down a pair of triples, while Malik Dia finished a fastbreak dunk off a turnover from Trent Pierce.

Thanks in large part to Bates, Missouri prevented that from happening. The guard scored 10 points on 3-of-4 shooting from the field by the 13:46 mark — including two 3-pointers from the same right corner — which brought energy to the Tigers and tied the score up at 12.

Bates has a fancy for scoring the first points of home games, but most of the time, it "just happens on accident."

Once Grill competed a four-point play at the 6:23 mark to put Missouri up 28-19, there seemed to be some separation brewing. The graduate senior had taken the reins from Bates in the final 10 minutes, tying his first half lead of 12 points.

The Tigers kept up the same pace once the second half began. To increase the 38-31 lead, Bates hit some early free throws and a jumper, while Josh Gray even got his first free-throw make of the night through four attempts to put it up 45-38 at the 15:32 mark.

The score got as close to 57-53 with 9:10 remaining, however, as the Rebels found some rhythm and made some strong defensive stops on Missouri. But as they had done all game, the Tigers fended off the push from two free throws and a layup off a loose ball turnover to go up 61-53.

As the clock ticked away, the lead only grew. Finding its way to the free-throw line particularly helped Missouri keep points on the board, while Bates added seven points from the 7:27 to 5:24 mark. By then the lead was in double-digits with a 68-56 advantage and the rest of the game largely stayed at the charity stripe.

Though not a win without some struggles in-between, the Tigers closed out Ole Miss to improve their record to 16-4. Up next is the No. 14-ranked Mississippi State Bulldogs at 12 p.m. Saturday in Starkville, Miss.