No. 21 Missouri came into the SEC Tournament in dire need of momentum after losing four of its last five games to end its regular season. After being picked to finish No. 13 in the conference in the preseason, the Tigers found themselves in possession of the No. 7 seed and a first-round bye.

Prior to this year’s tournament, head coach Dennis Gates boasted a 1-2 record in conference tournament play. This year, Gates’ squad had the mentality of letting their play do the talking for them and showed they still have more to prove with their performance in Nashville, Tennessee. 

Mississippi State

With 4:52 to play in the game, sophomore guard Josh Hubbard converted on a 4-point play to give Mississippi State a 68-67 lead. Contrary to the close score late in the game, the Tigers finished on a 17-6 run to secure an 85-73 win. Senior guard Tamar Bates and graduate guard Tony Perkins combined for 12 points down that stretch and provided the bulk of Missouri’s offense on the night.

“I thought our guys did a good job contesting without fouling and I thought we did a good job of recovering as well,” Gates said. “Our guys sat down, defended, rebounded and played connected basketball.”

Bates finished with a game-high of 25 points and Perkins had his best scoring and rebounding performance as a Tiger, with 20 points and seven rebounds. Perkins started the night hot with eight points in his first eight minutes of playing time on perfect shooting.

Graduate guard Caleb Grill had an off-night overall, with five points on 1-for-8 3-point shooting, but provided momentum-shifting moments. To end the first half, Grill swished a 3-pointer at the buzzer to give Missouri a 39-34 lead. Grill’s final bucket of the game was an emphatic two-handed dunk that broke a 69-69 tie, and the Tigers never trailed again after his dunk.

This win came without the help of junior forward Mark Mitchell due to an apparent leg injury. He only played for 12 minutes before exiting the game. 

Florida

Contrary to the Mississippi State game where the Tigers led for 26 minutes of action, Missouri never held a lead over the No. 2 seed Gators. The Tigers cut the deficit to four with 13:14 remaining in the game and then to five with 7:02 remaining, but Florida responded to each run and advanced to grab a 95-81 win.

“It pretty much speaks for itself in terms of how impressive the SEC has been,” Bates said. “You’ve got to come ready to play every night and this conference has prepared us.”

Mitchell was ruled out for this contest before tipoff, so graduate center Josh Gray slotted in the starting lineup. Missouri started the game in a hole, down 10-0 after senior guard Will Richard scored a quick eight points for the Gators. 

Freshmen T.O. Barrett and Peyton Marshall each saw meaningful first-half minutes, combining for six points and four rebounds. Despite Gates trying some interesting lineups, Florida’s offense could not be stopped. The Gators shot 62% from the field and had four players score more than 15 points.

Bates led the Tigers in scoring with 16 on a night where Missouri shot poorly in every aspect of the game. 44% from the field, 25% from the 3-point line and 61% from the free-throw line were the final shooting numbers from the Tigers, much lower than Florida’s. 

Missouri wrapped up the 2025 SEC Tournament with a 1-1 record and received the No. 6 seed in the NCAA Tournament. The Tigers will face No. 11 seed Drake in Wichita, Kansas on Thursday, March 20 at 6:35 p.m.

Edited by Michael Stamps | mstamps@themaneater.com

Copy edited by Natalie Kientzy | nkientzy@themaneater.com

Edited by Emily Skidmore | eskidmore@themaneater.com