Jayden StoneJayden Stone
Men's Basketball

Men's Basketball Faces No. 25 Miami in NCAA First Round

The Mizzou men's basketball team begins its quest for a national championship when it opens play in the 2026 NCAA Tournament against Miami on Friday. Tipoff in St. Louis is set for approximately 9:10 p.m. on truTV.

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Missouri (20-12, 10-8 SEC) vs. Miami (25-8, 13-5 SEC)
Game Details Friday, March 20 • 9:10 p.m. • St. Louis, Mo. • Enterprise Center
Television truTV
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Game Notes Missouri | Miami
Game Coverage Live Stats | Twitter: @MizzouHoops | Instagram: @MizzouHoops

The Mizzou men's basketball team begins its quest for a national championship when it opens play in the 2026 NCAA Tournament against Miami on Friday. Tipoff in St. Louis is set for approximately 9:10 p.m. on truTV.

TOURNAMENT CENTRAL

ABOUT THE TIGERS
• Missouri is a No. 10 seed for the NCAA Tournament after posting a 20-12 overall record in 2025-26. 
• The Tigers finished seventh in a SEC that sent 10 teams to the dance, going 10-8 in league play.
• Mizzou is coming off a 78-72 loss to Kentucky in the second round of the SEC Tournament.
• All-SEC honoree Mark Mitchell led MU during his senior campaign, posting team-best totals with 18.3 points, 5.3 rebounds and 3.6 assists.
• Three Tigers score in double figures with Jayden Stone (13.2) and Trent Pierce (10.6) following Mitchell's lead.
• The Tigers own a scoring offense of 79.7 points with a scoring defense of 75.3.
 
ABOUT THE HURRICANES
• Miami owns a 25-8 overall record this season after finishing third in the ACC with a 13-5 mark.
• The Hurricanes are led by Malik Reneau, who tallied 18.8 points per game.
• Tre Donaldson is second with 16.5 points to go with a team-best 5.8 assists, while Ernest Udeh Jr. has a Miami-leading 9.3 rebounds.
• The Hurricanes are tallying 81.9 points per game, while allowing 71.2.
 
SERIES HISTORY
• The schools have met once prior, squaring off in the first round of the 2002 NCAA Tournament.
• The 12th-seeded Tigers defeated fifth-seeded Miami, 93-80, in Albuquerque. Clarence Gilbert led six Tigers in double figures with 20 points.
• Mizzou would ultimately advance to its fourth Elite Eight in school history (in San Jose) after the first-round win.
 
TIGERS VERSUS ACC
• Missouri owns a 15-21 all-time record against schools from the ACC with 19 of the 36 meetings coming on a neutral court.
• MU is 1-3 versus the league in NCAA Tournament play, defeating Clemson in 2010, while falling to North Carolina (2000), Duke (2001) and Florida State (2018).
• The Tigers are 2-1 against ACC schools under Coach Gates – all in the ACC/SEC Challenge, defeating Pittsburgh in 2023 and California in 2024, while falling at Notre Dame this season.
 
HOME-COURT ADVANTAGE?
• The Tigers are staying close to home and making the short trip to St. Louis for the opening rounds.
• Enterprise Center is located just 126 miles away from Mizzou Arena.
• It is the second time the Tigers will play an NCAA Tournament game in St. Louis, falling to Houston in the 1982 Sweet 16.
 
MIAMI CONNECTIONS
• There are a number of familiar faces between the two programs.
• Miami sophomore Marcus Allen spent his rookie campaign at Mizzou in 2024-25.
• Charlton Young is also in his first year as associate coach at Miami after spending three years at Mizzou as the team's associate head coach.
• Mizzou's Anthony Robinson II and Miami's Tre Donaldson were also teammates at Florida State University High School, helping the school to the 2022 state championship.
 
NCAA TOURNAMENT HISTORY
• Mizzou is competing in its 31st NCAA Tournament.
• The Tigers are 23-30 all-time in their first 53 NCAA Tournament contests
• Mizzou has earned an invitation to the NCAA Tournament in back-to-back seasons for the first time since a run of five-straight from 2009 to 2013.
• Overall, it marks the third NCAA Tournament bid in four years for the Tigers under head coach Dennis Gates.
• MU has advanced as far as the Elite Eight on five occasions (1944, 1976, 1994, 2002 and 2009).
 
TOURNAMENT NUMBERS TO KNOW
• The Tigers earned the No. 10 seed for the third time in their history.
• Mizzou fell in the first round as a 10 seed in 1993, while going 1-1 in 2010.
• Overall, MU owns an 11-14 record in the round of 64 and is also 7-16 all-time as the lower seed with its last upset win in 2010.
 
BATTLE TESTED IN THE SEC
• Mizzou is one of 10 SEC schools to earn an NCAA Tournament bid this season.
• It marks just the third time in tournament history a league earned 10-plus bids (14 by SEC last season and 10 by Big East in 2011).
• Overall, Mizzou is 7-8 versus NCAA Tournament teams this season, while Miami is 4-6.
• The schools also shared one common opponent this season with Mizzou defeating Florida, 76-74, and the Gators topping Miami, 82-68.
 
NCAA TOURNAMENT EXPERIENCE
• Seven of the 14 Tigers have played in the NCAA Tournament in the past for a total of 13 games.
• Of the Tigers usual eight-man rotation, only Trent Burns, Shawn Phillips Jr. and Jayden Stone are making their tournament debuts.
Mark Mitchell has had the most success in the dance, making the Elite Eight at Duke in 2024.
• Miami has three players with NCAA Tournament experience for a total of 12 games.