University of Missouri
California
Men's Basketball Hosts California in SEC/ACC Challenge
12/2/2024 4:50:00 PM | Men's Basketball
| Missouri (6-1, 0-0 SEC) vs. California (6-1, 0-0 ACC) | |
| Game Details | Tuesday, Dec. 3 • 6 p.m. • Columbia, Mo. • Mizzou Arena | Gameday Info |
| Television | SEC Network |
| Radio | Tiger Radio Network | Sirius XM: 85 or 191 | Sirius XM App: 961 |
| Game Notes | Missouri | California |
| Game Coverage | Live Stats | Twitter: @MizzouHoops | Instagram: @MizzouHoops |
| Tickets | Ticketmaster | 1-800-CAT-PAWS |
University of Missouri men's basketball welcomes California to Mizzou Arena on the opening night of the SEC/ACC Challenge on Tuesday. Tipoff is set for 6 p.m. on SEC Network.
PROMOTIONS
• Tuesday's contest is a White Out with all fans encouraged to dress in white.
ABOUT THE TIGERS
• Missouri owns a 6-1 record through seven games of the 2024-25 campaign – winning its last six and the last four by 20-plus points.
• Despite leaving the last game with an injury, Caleb Grill leads MU with 13.6 points and 21 3-pointers.
• Overall, three Tigers score in double figures with Tamar Bates (11.9) and Mark Mitchell (11.0) following Grill's lead.
• Josh Gray leads Mizzou with 5.4 rebounds, while Anthony Robinson II has a team-best 4.0 assists.
• The Tigers rank seventh nationally with a scoring offense of 90.1 points, 31st with scoring defense of 63.0 and fifth with a scoring margin of +27.1.
ABOUT THE GOLDEN BEARS
• California matches Mizzou by entering Tuesday's game with a 6-1 record.
• After suffering its lone defeat of the season at SEC foe Vanderbilt, Cal has won its last four games.
• Andrej Stojakovic leads the Bears with 17.7 points per game.
• Jovan Blacksher is second with 16.3 points and first with 3.0 assists.
• Lee Dort has a team-leading 7.4 rebounds.
• The Bears average 79.9 points per game.
SERIES HISTORY
• In a series that dates back to 1941, the Tigers hold a 5-2 edge over the Bears, including a 2-0 record in Columbia.
• The schools last met in the championship game of the 2011 CBE Classic with No. 21 Mizzou dominating No. 20 Cal, 92-53.
• The teams met twice in the Big 12-Pac 10 Hardwood Series with both teams winning on their home court in 2007 (Cal) and 2008 (Mizzou).
MIZZOU VERSUS ACC
• Missouri owns a 14-20 all-time record against schools from the ACC with 19 of the 34 meetings coming on a neutral court.
• Last season, the Tigers defeated Pitt in their only contest with the conference, ending a three-game losing streak to the ACC.
SEC/ACC CHALLENGE
• The Tigers and Bears are meeting on the first day of the second-annual SEC/ACC Challenge.
• Mizzou owns a record of 7-4 in league challenge series – 3-1 versus Pac 10, 3-3 versus Big 12 and 1-0 versus ACC after last season's win at Pitt.
• MU has never lost a home game in a conference challenge, going a perfect 5-0 at Mizzou Arena.
GATES VERSUS ALMA MATER
• Whitten Family Men's Basketball Head Coach Dennis Gates is set to welcome his alma mater to Mizzou Arena on Tuesday.
• Gates played for the Bears from 1998 to 2002, helping the team to NCAA Tournament bids as a junior and senior.
• A three-time team captain, Gates was awarded the 2002 Pac-10 Medal of Honor as Cal's top graduating student-athlete.
• Overall, Gates appeared in 114 career games with 432 points, 140 rebounds, 148 assists and 100 steals.
TIGERS ON FIRE
• Missouri has dominated its last four opponents, cruising to a big victory in each contest.
• The Tigers have outscored their last four foes by an average of 44.0 points (98.8 to 54.8).
• With each of the victories by at least 20 points, it marks just the fourth time in school history MU has won four-straight by 20-plus points (also in 1987-88, 2011-12 and 2022-23).
DEPTH OF WEAPONS
• One of the reasons for the Tigers' strong play as of late is the amount of weapons.
• Through seven games, the Tigers have had six different players lead the team in scoring.
• Overall, 11 different players have tallied at least 10 points in a game this year. MU is the only SEC school with 11 players to score in double digits this season (Alabama and Texas rank second with nine each).
• On Nov. 14, seven players scored in double figures for the Tigers – a first for MU since 2010.
2-POINT EFFICIENCY
• Mizzou has excelled scoring inside the arc so far.
• The Tigers have made 63.2 percent of their 2-point baskets (144-228) – more than 12 percent above the national average of 50.9 and third-best mark in the country.
DEFENSIVE STRENGTH
• Missouri is also enjoying one of its best runs on the defensive side of the ball during the Coach Gates era.
• The Tigers have held their last four opponents to under 65 points and 40 percent shooting.
• It marks the first time that MU has held a team under 65 points in four-straight games since 2019-20 and under 40 percent shooting in four-straight since 2022-23.
• Overall, Mizzou ranks 31st nationally with a scoring defense of 63.0 points per game.
