University of Missouri
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Mississippi State
No. 21 Men's Basketball Opens SEC Tournament Thursday
3/12/2025 2:00:00 PM | Men's Basketball
| #21/22 Missouri (21-10, 10-8 SEC) vs. Mississippi State (20-11, 8-10) or LSU (14-17, 3-15) | |
| Game Details | Thursday, March 13 • 6 p.m. • Nashville, Tenn. • Bridgestone Arena |
| Television | SEC Network |
| Radio | Tiger Radio Network | Sirius XM: 106 or 190 | Sirius XM App: 960 |
| Game Notes | Missouri |
| Game Coverage | Live Stats | Twitter: @MizzouHoops | Instagram: @MizzouHoops |
No. 21/22 University of Missouri men's basketball opens the SEC Tournament on Thursday night, meeting either Mississippi State or LSU in the second round. Tipoff in Nashville is set for 6 p.m.
ABOUT THE TIGERS
• Missouri finished the regular season with a 21-10 overall record and 10-8 mark in SEC play.
• The Tigers enter the SEC Tournament as one of seven teams in the conference in the national rankings, placing No. 21 in the AP poll and No. 22 in the USA Today Coaches poll.
• Junior Mark Mitchell leads the Tigers with 14.3 points per game, while Caleb Grill at 14.2 and Tamar Bates at 12.9 follow closely behind.
• Josh Gray has a team-best 5.2 rebounds, while Anthony Robinson II leads MU with 3.5 assists.
• MU is eighth nationally with a scoring offense of 84.5 and 21st with a scoring margin of +11.4.
SEC TOURNAMENT HISTORY
• Mizzou is competing in its 11th SEC Tournament since joining the league in 2012-13, posting a 7-10 record in its first 10 attempts.
• Under head coach Dennis Gates, the Tigers own a 1-2 record, advancing to the semifinals for the first time in school history in 2023 and falling in the first round last season.
TOURNAMENT NUMBERS TO KNOW
• Mizzou owns a 3-4 all-time record in the second round of the SEC Tournament and have advanced to the quarterfinals four times overall previously.
• MU also owns a 6-2 record as the higher-seeded team, including a 3-1 record in the second round.
• The Tigers have played LSU once at the SEC Tournament, falling in 2022, while never having played Mississippi State.
MISSISSIPPI STATE SERIES
• Mississippi State owns a 14-7 advantage in 21 meetings between the two schools.
• While the Bulldogs have won eight of the last 10 over Mizzou and 13 of the last 16, the Tigers have claimed two of the most recent three meetings.
• MU cruised to an 88-61 win at No. 14 Mississippi State earlier this season – the largest win over a ranked team on the road in school history.
• Caleb Grill led Mizzou with 20 points – making 6-of-11 from 3-point range – while Josh Gray chipped in his first double-double as a Tiger.
LSU SERIES
• LSU owns a 12-5 advantage over Mizzou in 17 all-time meetings.
• Mizzou, however, has won 3-of-4 meetings since both team's coaches were hired in 2022.
• MU earned an 83-67 win on Jan. 7 with Tamar Bates leading the team with 20 points, eight rebounds and three steals.
• LSU is 2-0 versus Mizzou in the postseason with wins in the 1980 NCAA Tournament and 2022 SEC Tournament.
NEXT UP
• If the Tigers advance past either Mississippi State or LSU, they advance to play second-seeded Florida on Friday at 6 p.m. in the quarterfinals.
• MU defeated Florida, 83-82, on Jan. 14 – handing the Gators their lone home loss of the season.
TRIO EARNS SEC HONORS
• Three Tigers collected SEC postseason honors.
• Caleb Grill became the second player in school history to earn SEC Sixth Man of the Year.
• Mark Mitchell earned All-SEC honors – third team by the coaches and second team by the media.
• Anthony Robinson II was named to the SEC All-Defensive Team – the only underclassmen to earn the distinction the last two years.
SIXTH MAN OF THE YEAR
• Not just the best player off the bench in the SEC, Caleb Grill ranks as one of the nation's best.
• Among players with five or fewer starts, Grill is first nationally with 14.2 points per game – Liberty's Taelon Peter is second with 13.7 points.
• Additionally, Grill's 14.2 points are the most by a player coming off the bench in MU history – just ahead of Michael Dixon (13.5 points in 2011-12).
BENCH POINTS
• Overall, Mizzou features one of the nation's top benches during the 2024-25 season.
• Missouri ranks third in the country with 36.7 bench points per game.
• Bench points have been the biggest factor for MU's success as starters have been outscored by foes by 5.1 points (52.9 to 47.8) but its reserves have outscored opponents by 16.4 (36.7 to 20.3).
IMMEDIATE IMPACT
• Junior Mark Mitchell has made an immediate impact at MU, earning all-league honors by the coaches (third team) and media (second team).
• A two-year starter at Duke, Mitchell leads the team with 14.3 points per game.
• He is the third Tiger in school history to earn All-SEC honors in his first year at MU, joining Jordan Clarkson (2014) and Kassius Roberston (2018).
STAY HOT, MARK MITCHELL
• Junior Mark Mitchell is only getting better as he played his best basketball down the stretch.
• In the last eight games, Mitchell is tallying 20.0 points – shooting 57.8 percent from the field.
• His most impressive performance during the run was a career-high 31-point game in a win over No. 4 Alabama, making 11-of-15 field goals.
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