Mizzou’s Mark Mitchell struggles to get a shot off against an Ole Miss defender in Saturday night’s SEC game between the Tigers and Rebels. (Photo courtesy: Getty Images)
| NCAA Men’s Basketball | 1 | 2 | Final |
|---|---|---|---|
| Missouri (12-4, 2-1) | 36 | 33 | 69 |
| Ole Miss (9-7, 1-2) | 37 | 39 | 76 |
OXFORD, MS — The University of Missouri men’s basketball team had a chance to go 3-0 in conference play for the first time in 25 years.
Unfortunately, the Tigers struggled shooting from the floor and really struggled from the free throw line, which led to a 76-69 defeat to Ole Miss and Missouri’s first Southeastern Conference loss of the season.
“We just didn’t get it done,” Mizzou head coach Dennis Gates said. “We had a lot of mistakes, a lot of missed shots, and a lot of missed free throws. Just not a good night.”
The missed free throws were especially rough for Missouri. The Tigers went 12-for-24 from the line, with many of those misses coming in key moments that could’ve stopped an Ole Miss run or helped Mizzou begin its own.
“At the end of the day, we gotta execute on the free throw line. And I think that’s where the game got away from us,” Gates said. “We gotta knock down free throws. Being able to get on the road and get a win is difficult, but we gotta be able to do it by shooting a better percentage from that free throw line.”
In contrast, Ole Miss made 15-of-19 from the free throw line.
Drawing contact wasn’t much of an issue. Ole Miss (9-7, 1-2 SEC) was whistled for 21 fouls, four more than Mizzou. And while Gates wishes there would’ve been a few more called — what coach wouldn’t? — it still resulted in an extra five attempts at the stripe Mizzou.
The team squandered its advantage by missing 12 free throws. One of those misses was on the front end of a one-and-one, effectively taking away another attempt. It was a lot of points left on the table in a game in which the score was tied four times and the lead was changed seven.
“We gotta be able to make plays in that moment,” Gates said. “We gotta come away with two in a row. And if we’re able to do that, it’s a different ball game. Everyone was able to get there.
“The guys that I thought were able to shoot got to the line. We’re all better shooters than that. We see it in practice. We just gotta be able to maximize the opportunities in the game and at that point, we’ll keep and continue to work on them.”
Foul shots weren’t the only reason the Tigers dropped the game. After establishing a 22-12 lead eight minutes into the first half, Ole Miss quickly erased it, going on a 15-5 run. Rebels senior wing A.J. Storr torched Mizzou for 18 points during the period.
Missouri outrebounded Ole Miss in the first half, 20-12, but saw its advantage on the boards evaporate in the second as the hosts pulled down 22 rebounds to the visitors’ 15. The black and gold started the game shooting 5-of-7 from the 3-point line, but only made 2-of-17 the rest of the way.
Still, a better percentage at the free throw line could have covered up for some of those mistakes.
“We had a couple of rebounds we could’ve got late,” senior forward Mark Mitchell said. “We just gotta make our free throws, if I’m being honest. Gotta make our free throws.”
There were some bright spots for Mizzou. Mitchell led the way for the Tigers, turning in one of the most well-rounded performances of his career with 20 points, eight rebounds, seven assists and a block.
Grad student guard Jayden Stone added another 16 points, four rebounds and four assists, while senior center Shawn Phillips Jr. chipped in 12 points, six rebounds, two blocks and a steal. It all helped keep Missouri from falling too far behind down the stretch of the game.
The Rebels called timeout with 1:08 left in the second half, holding a 69-66 lead. Mizzou needed a stop and a score to stay in the game. They almost got the stop — Storr pulled up for a 3-pointer from the right corner on the ensuing play and missed badly.
The Tigers seemingly had players in position to pull down the rebound, but Ole Miss senior center Malik Dia got to the loose ball first instead. The Rebels ran down an extra 19 seconds of clock and missed on another layup, but scored on a tip-in at the rim to go up by five and maintained the lead the rest of the way.
After beating Kentucky on Wednesday, Gates spoke about Missouri needing to give itself a chance to win at the end of every game. He felt like, between that play and the missed free throws, his players didn’t give themselves that chance. He’s hopeful his team will bounce back.
“You can’t win on the road going 12 for 24,” Gates said. “I’m proud of our guys, proud of our program, proud of the preparation. I’m not proud of the outcome, but I’m proud of the amount of fight that we showed on the road to be able to play against a tough team. Ultimately, Ole Miss deserved to win. We missed too many free throws. They made theirs.”
The Tigers (12-4, 2-1) will be back in action on Wednesday, when they’ll host Auburn (10-6, 1-2) in another SEC game at Mizzou Arena. Tip off is scheduled for 6 p.m., and the game will be televised nationally on ESPN2.
MIZZOU 69
| PLAYERS | MIN | FG | 3PT | FT | REB | AST | TO | STL | BLK | OREB | DREB | PF | PTS |
| Shawn Phillips | 29 | 6-7 | 0-0 | 0-3 | 6 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 5 | 2 | 12 |
| Anthony Robinson | 35 | 2-9 | 0-3 | 2-4 | 3 | 6 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 5 | 6 |
| Mark Mitchell | 36 | 7-9 | 1-1 | 5-8 | 8 | 7 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 6 | 0 | 20 |
| Jacob Crews | 21 | 2-6 | 1-5 | 0-0 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 3 | 5 |
| Jayden Stone | 31 | 4-6 | 3-5 | 5-7 | 4 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 3 | 16 |
| Trent Burns | 1 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Annor Boateng | 9 | 0-1 | 0-1 | 0-2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| T.O. Barrett | 9 | 0-1 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| Nicholas Randall | 4 | 0-1 | 0-1 | 0-0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 0 |
| Trent Pierce | 25 | 4-11 | 2-8 | 0-0 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 10 |
| TEAM | *** | 25-51 | 7-24 | 12-24 | 35 | 22 | 13 | 3 | 5 | 9 | 26 | 17 | 69 |
OLE MISS 76
| PLAYERS | MIN | FG | 3PT | FT | REB | AST | TO | STL | BLK | OREB | DREB | PF | PTS |
| James Scott | 25 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 4 | 2 | 0 |
| Malik Dia | 34 | 8-17 | 2-3 | 3-4 | 11 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 3 | 3 | 8 | 3 | 21 |
| Ilias Kamardine | 29 | 3-8 | 1-5 | 0-0 | 1 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 7 |
| Eduardo Klafke | 14 | 3-6 | 1-2 | 0-0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 7 |
| Patton Pinkins | 12 | 0-3 | 0-3 | 0-0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Augusto Cassiá | 9 | 3-4 | 0-0 | 1-1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 7 |
| Corey Chest | 12 | 0-1 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 5 | 0 |
| Koren Johnson | 22 | 0-3 | 0-1 | 0-2 | 3 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 2 | 0 |
| A.J. Storr | 33 | 8-16 | 4-6 | 6-6 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 3 | 26 |
| Kezza Giffa | 6 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 3-4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| Travis Perry | 4 | 1-3 | 1-2 | 2-2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 5 |
| TEAM | *** | 26-61 | 9-22 | 15-19 | 34 | 15 | 7 | 5 | 6 | 10 | 24 | 21 | 76 |
2025-26 MISSOURI TIGERS MEN’S BASKETBALL SCHEDULE
| Date | Time | At | Opponent | Location | TV | Results |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| November 3, 2025 (Monday) | 6 pm | Away | Howard | Washington, D.C. |  | W, 88-67 (1-0) |
| November 7, 2025 (Friday) | 7 pm | Home | Southeast Missouri | Mizzou Arena |  | W, 89-84 (2-0) |
| November 9, 2025 (Sunday) | 1 pm | Home | VMI | Mizzou Arena |  | W, 106-68, (3-0) |
| November 12, 2025 (Wednesday) | 7 pm | Home | Minnesota | Mizzou Arena | | W, 83-60 (4-0) |
| November 17, 2025 (Monday) | 7 pm | Home | Prairie View A&M | Mizzou Arena | | W, 91-73 (5-0) |
| November 20, 2025 (Thursday) | 7 pm | Home | South Dakota | Mizzou Arena | | W, 102-68 (6-0) |
| November 25, 2025 (Tuesday) | 7 pm | Home | South Carolina State | Mizzou Arena | | W, 98-66 (7-0) |
| November 28, 2025 (Friday) | 1 pm | Home | Cleveland State | Mizzou Arena | | W, 86-59 (8-0) |
| December 2, 2025 (Tuesday) | 8 pm | Away | Notre Dame | South Bend, Ind. |  | L, 76-71 (8-1) |
| December 7, 2025 (Sunday) | 12 pm | Neutral | #21 Kansas | Kansas City, Mo. / T-Mobile Center |  | L, 80-60 (8-2) |
| December 11, 2025 (Thursday) | 7 pm | Home | Alabama State | Mizzou Arena | | W, 85-77 (9-2) |
| December 14, 2025 (Sunday) | 1 pm | Home | Bethune-Cookman | Mizzou Arena | | W, 82-60 (10-2) |
| December 22, 2025 (Monday) | 7 pm | Neutral | #18 Illinois | St. Louis, Mo. / Enterprise Center |  | L, 91-48 (10-3) |
| January 3, 2026 (Saturday) | 7:30 pm | Home | #22 Florida | Mizzou Arena | | W, 76-74 (11-3) |
| January 7, 2026 (Tuesday) | 6 pm | Away | Kentucky | Lexington, Ky. | | W, 73-69 (12-3) |
| January 10, 2026 (Saturday) | 5 pm | Away | Ole Miss | Oxford, Miss. | | L, 76-69 (12-4) |
| January 14, 2026 (Tuesday) | 6 pm | Home | Auburn | Mizzou Arena | | |
| January 17, 2026 (Saturday) | 2:30 pm | Away | LSU | Baton Rouge, La. | | |
| January 20, 2026 (Tuesday) | 8 pm | Home | Georgia | Mizzou Arena | | |
| January 24, 2026 (Saturday) | 1 pm | Home | Oklahoma | Mizzou Arena |  | |
| January 27, 2026 (Tuesday) | 8 pm | Away | Alabama | Tuscaloosa, Ala. | | |
| January 31, 2026 (Saturday) | 2:30 pm | Home | Mississippi State | Mizzou Arena | | |
| February 7, 2026 (Saturday) | 12 pm | Away | South Carolina | Columbia, S.C. | | |
| February 10, 2026 (Tuesday) | 8 pm | Away | Texas A&M | College Station, Texas | | |
| February 14, 2026 (Saturday) | 7:30 pm | Home | Texas | Mizzou Arena | | |
| February 17, 2026 (Tuesday) | 8 pm | Home | Vanderbilt | Mizzou Arena | | |
| February 21, 2026 (Saturday) | 3 pm | Away | Arkansas | Fayetteville, Ark. | | |
| February 24, 2026 (Tuesday) | 8 pm | Home | Tennessee | Mizzou Arena | | |
| February 28, 2026 (Saturday) | 12 pm | Away | Mississippi State | Starkville, Miss. | | |
| March 3, 2026 (Tuesday) | 6 pm | Away | Oklahoma | Norman, Okla. | | |
| March 7, 2026 (Saturday) | 11 am | Home | Arkansas | Mizzou Arena | |