The Missouri Tigers earned a berth in the 2026 NCAA Tournament and will play Miami (FL), Friday night in St. Louis. (Photo: Ellie Parker)

The University of Missouri men’s basketball team heard the news it had waited all season to hear on Sunday.

The Tigers are go dancing.

Missouri was named one of the 68 teams to play in this year’s NCAA Championship Tournament, as a No. 10 seed, and will play seventh-seeded Miami (FL) on Friday at the Enterprise Center in St. Louis.

“During these times, you don’t know what to expect. You can’t read the media,” Mizzou head coach Dennis Gates said. “Ultimately, we find out when we find out — when the rest of the world finds out. And that’s the exciting part of March Madness, too.”

The Tigers and Hurricanes will tip off at 9:10 p.m., as the final game of the night on Friday. Other teams headed to St. Louis for the first round of the NCAA Tournament include Kentucky, who will play Santa Clara; Iowa State, who will play Tennessee State; and Big 10 Tournament champion and preseason national No. 1, Purdue, who will play Queens College.

The winner of the Purdue/Queens game will play the winner of the Mizzou/Miami game on Sunday, for the right to advance to the Sweet 16. The winners of the Kentucky/Santa Clara and Iowa State/Tennessee State games will also meet on Sunday, hoping to advance to the second weekend on the tournament. The Mizzou/Miami game will be broadcast live on TruTv.

Senior Mark Mitchell leads Missouri in scoring (18.3 ppg) and rebounding (5.6) this season. (Photo: Ellie Parker)

Missouri, which enters the tournament with a 20-11 record, faced Miami (25-8) one time previously in the tournament. Mizzou won that game, 93-80, in the 2002 NCAA Tournament First Round in Albuquerque, N.M.

The Tigers were a No. 12 seed and were the last at-large team to earn a bid that year, but then went on a sensational run to pull off three straight upset victories win was the first of three postseason victories before bowing out in the Elite Eight against Oklahoma.

“It’s such a gift to be able to have your name called and you just don’t know where you will be, who you’ll play against and the fans alike,” Gates said. “We’re all excited about the opportunity a great opponent in a great city like St. Louis.”

Sophomore T.O. Barrett took over the starting point guard job for Missouri in February and helped lead the Tigers to their second straight NCAA Tournament bid. (Photo: Ellie Parker)

This will be Mizzou’s 31st bid into the NCAA Tournament, including its second straight and third in four years under head coach Dennis Gates.

The Tigers received consecutive invitations to the national tournament for the first time since a run of five-straight from 2009 to 2013. In total, Mizzou owns 23 victories in the NCAA Tournament, advancing as far as the Elite Eight five times in its history (1944, 1976, 1994, 2002 and 2009).

“Definitely excited about our opportunity here as we represent the SEC in the NCAA Tournament,” Gates said. “There’s similarities, there’s familiarity and there’s relationships on both sides. And they’re coached by a heck of a coach in Jai Lucas, (I’ve) known his family for years, but one of the top coaches in the country, obviously representing the ACC.

“And what he’s been able to do at Miami is definitely an accomplishment in itself. So it’s going to be a battle and one of those situations and games that we’re excited to play.”

2025-26 MISSOURI TIGERS MEN’S BASKETBALL SCHEDULE

DateTimeAtOpponentLocationTVResults
November 3, 2025 (Monday)6 pmAwayHowardWashington, D.C.W, 88-67 (1-0)
November 7, 2025 (Friday)7 pmHomeSoutheast MissouriMizzou ArenaW, 89-84 (2-0)
November 9, 2025 (Sunday)1 pmHomeVMIMizzou ArenaW, 106-68, (3-0)
November 12, 2025 (Wednesday)7 pmHomeMinnesotaMizzou ArenaW, 83-60 (4-0)
November 17, 2025 (Monday)7 pmHomePrairie View A&MMizzou ArenaW, 91-73 (5-0)
November 20, 2025 (Thursday)7 pmHomeSouth DakotaMizzou ArenaW, 102-68 (6-0)
November 25, 2025 (Tuesday)7 pmHomeSouth Carolina StateMizzou ArenaW, 98-66 (7-0)
November 28, 2025 (Friday)1 pmHomeCleveland StateMizzou ArenaW, 86-59 (8-0)
December 2, 2025 (Tuesday)8 pmAwayNotre DameSouth Bend, Ind.L, 76-71 (8-1)
December 7, 2025 (Sunday)12 pmNeutral#21 KansasKansas City, Mo. / T-Mobile CenterL, 80-60 (8-2)
December 11, 2025 (Thursday)7 pmHomeAlabama StateMizzou ArenaW, 85-77 (9-2)
December 14, 2025 (Sunday)1 pmHomeBethune-CookmanMizzou ArenaW, 82-60 (10-2)
December 22, 2025 (Monday)7 pmNeutral#18 IllinoisSt. Louis, Mo. / Enterprise CenterL, 91-48 (10-3)
January 3, 2026 (Saturday)7:30 pmHome#22 FloridaMizzou ArenaW, 76-74 (11-3)
January 7, 2026 (Tuesday)6 pmAwayKentuckyLexington, Ky.W, 73-69 (12-3)
January 10, 2026 (Saturday)5 pmAwayOle MissOxford, Miss.L, 76-69 (12-4)
January 14, 2026 (Tuesday)6 pmHomeAuburnMizzou ArenaW, 84-74 (13-4)
January 17, 2026 (Saturday)2:30 pmAwayLSUBaton Rouge, La.L, 78-70 (13-5)
January 20, 2026 (Tuesday)8 pmHome#21 GeorgiaMizzou ArenaL, 74-72 (13-6)
January 24, 2026 (Saturday)1 pmHomeOklahomaMizzou ArenaW, 88-87 OT (14-6)
January 27, 2026 (Tuesday)8 pmAway#23 AlabamaTuscaloosa, Ala.L, 90-64 (14-7)
January 31, 2026 (Saturday)2:30 pmHomeMississippi StateMizzou ArenaW, 84-79 (15-7)
February 7, 2026 (Saturday)12 pmAwaySouth CarolinaColumbia, S.C.W, 78-59 (16-7)
February 10, 2026 (Tuesday)8 pmAwayTexas A&MCollege Station, TexasW, 86-85 (17-7)
February 14, 2026 (Saturday)7:30 pmHomeTexasMizzou ArenaL, 86-68 (17-8)
February 17, 2026 (Tuesday)8 pmHome#19 VanderbiltMizzou ArenaW, 81-80 (18-8)
February 21, 2026 (Saturday)3 pmAwayArkansasFayetteville, Ark.L, 94-86 (18-9)
February 24, 2026 (Tuesday)8 pmHome#18 TennesseeMizzou ArenaW, 73-69 (19-9)
February 28, 2026 (Saturday)12 pmAwayMississippi StateStarkville, Miss.W, 88-64 (20-9)
March 3, 2026 (Tuesday)6 pmAwayOklahomaNorman, Okla.L, 80-64 (20-10)
March 7, 2026 (Saturday)11 amHomeArkansasMizzou ArenaL, 88-84 (20-11)
March 12, 2026 (Thursday)11:30 amNeutral#8 KentuckyNashville, TNL, 78-72 (20-12)
March 20, 2026 (Friday)9:10 pmNeutral#7 Miami (FL)St. Louis, Mo. / Enterprise Center