University of Missouri
VMI
Men's Basketball Hosts VMI Sunday Afternoon
11/8/2025 4:00:00 PM | Men's Basketball
| Missouri (2-0, 0-0 SEC) vs. VMI (2-0, 0-0 Southern) | |
| Game Details | Sunday, Nov. 9 • 3:30 p.m. • Columbia, Mo. • Mizzou Arena | Gameday Info |
| Television | SEC Network |
| Radio | Tiger Radio Network | Sirius XM App: 974 |
| Game Notes | Missouri | VMI |
| Game Coverage | Live Stats | Twitter: @MizzouHoops | Instagram: @MizzouHoops |
| Tickets | Ticketmaster | 1-800-CAT-PAWS |
The Mizzou men's basketball team aims to continue its undefeated start to the 2025-26 season, hosting VMI on Sunday afternoon. Tipoff at Mizzou Arena is set for 3:30 p.m. on SEC Network.
PROMOTIONS
• Halftime of Sunday's game includes a scrimmage from Special Olympics.
ABOUT THE TIGERS
• Missouri has started the season with two wins in two games, coming off an 89-84 victory over Southeast Missouri on Friday.
• Senior Mark Mitchell led the Tigers with 29 points, five boards and three assists in Friday's win.
• Through two games, Mitchell leads MU with 19.0 points and 2.5 assists per game, while ranking second with 5.5 rebounds.
• Five Tigers, overall, are scoring in double figures – Jayden Stone (13.5), Anthony Robinson II (11.5), Shawn Phillips Jr. (11.5) and Sebastian Mack (10.0).
• Phillips also leads Mizzou with 8.0 rebounds.
• The Tigers have averaged 88.5 points through their first two games, shooting 57.4 percent overall and 47.1 percent from 3-point range.
ABOUT THE KEYDETS
• VMI has won its first two games of the 2025-26 campaign, defeating Johnson & Wales and Southern Indiana.
• TJ Johnson leads the Keydets with 25.5 points and 12.0 rebounds per game.
• Overall, five players are scoring in double figures for VMI.
• Tan Yildizoglu averages a team-best 8.0 assists.
• VMI is averaging 100.0 points per game, while allowing 66.0 points.
SERIES HISTORY
• The schools are meeting for the first time on the basketball court.
MIZZOU VS SOUTHERN CONFERENCE
• Missouri is 13-2 all-time against teams from the Southern Conference, including an 11-1 mark at home in Columbia.
• Mizzou has won its last seven games versus league foes, dating back to a road defeat at Davidson during the 2005-06 campaign.
• The Tigers last played a SoCon opponent during the 2019-20 season, defeating Wofford, 75-56.
SHARED CONNECTIONS
• The two programs share a number of connections among the coaching staffs.
• VMI head coach Andrew Wilson played for Florida State from 2000 to 2006 with Dennis Gates serving as a graduate assistant in 2004-05.
• Additionally, VMI associate head coach Xavier Silas was an analyst for the Tigers in 2023, while assistant coach Nick Korta was MU's Assistant Director of Basketball Operations in 2024-25.
HOT SHOOTING LEADS THE WAY
• The Tigers have not wasted a lot of time finding their shooting rhythm in 2025-26.
• Mizzou is making 57.4 percent of its field goals through two games with a 47.1 percent clip from 3-point range.
• In fact, Mizzou has eclipsed 50 percent shooting and 40 percent from beyond the arc in both wins. It marks the first time that MU has done either in the first two games since 2017-18.
• The Tigers have not shot 50 percent in the first three games since 2010-11, while last making 40 percent from 3-point range in the first three games in 2011-12.
50 PERCENT OR BETTER
• As Mizzou continues to make 50 percent of its field goals, it continues to pile up the wins.
• The 50 percent mark is almost a guaranteed win for the Tigers as MU is now 32-1 under Coach Gates when hitting the mark, including 14-0 since the start of the 2024-25 season.
EFFICIENCY FROM MARK MITCHELL
• Senior Mark Mitchell led the Tigers to a win in their home opener on Friday.
• Mitchell tallied 29 points on just 14 field-goal attempts – making 12-of-14 from the field and all seven of his attempts in the second half.
• In fact, Mitchell is the first Tiger in the last 20 seasons to score at least 29 points in a game, while making 85 percent of his field-goal attempts.
• Through two games, Mitchell leads Mizzou with 19.0 points, shooting 80.0 percent (16-20) from the field.
DOMINATING THE PAINT
• With Mark Mitchell leading the way, the Tigers have owned a dominant interior presence.
• Mizzou has outscored its two opponents by at least 18 points in the paint in both victories.
• Overall, the Tigers own a 92-44 advantage in the paint this season – an average of 46.0 to 22.0.
LEAVE NO STONE UNTURNED
• After missing more than a year of action due to injury, Jayden Stone has not disappointed in his first two games as a Tiger.
• Stone ranks second on Mizzou with 13.5 points, scoring 13 in the opener against Howard and adding 14 on Friday versus Southeast Missouri.
• The graduate transfer is the first Tiger to score in double figures in his first two games at MU since D'Moi Hodge and Nick Honor did so in 2022-23.
• Stone is shooting 62.5 percent this season and 54.5 percent from 3-point range with a team-best six triples. He has also added 3.5 rebounds and 2.5 assists per game.
