Mizzou PG T.O. Barrett makes a move against Mississippi State’s Josh Hubbard during Saturday’s SEC basketball game at Mizzou Arena. (Photo: Terrance Williams)

NCAA Men’s Basketball1st Half2nd HalfFinal
Mississippi State (11-11, 3-6)354474
Missouri (15-7, 5-3)424284

COLUMBIA, MO — The University of Missouri men’s basketball team ground out a tough 84-79 victory over Mississippi State in an important Southeastern Conference game, Saturday afternoon at Mizzou Arena.

Mark Mitchell scored 19 points, grabbed seven rebounds, and dished out four assists, while teammate T.O. Barrett added 16 points, eight rebounds, and four assists of his own to lead Missouri in a victory it needed to have to keep its hopes of making the NCAA Tournament high.

The Tigers don’t have a lot of top notch victories on their resume, so they can’t afford losses against lesser ranked teams like the Bulldogs.

“We take it one game at a time,” Barrett said. “So, whatever’s going on, we’re in the practice gym, we’re putting in work, we’re thinking about the next game. I don’t think stuff like (the tournament) is on our mind.”

Whether the Tigers are thinking about it or not, the NCAA Tournament Committee is, and they’re the ones who will decide who gets to participate in March Madness this year. And Mizzou looked like a team that knew going in, it couldn’t afford a loss against a team like Mississippi State.

The Tigers jumped out to a quick 21-11 lead, after hitting five of their first six three-point attempts. Trent Pierce, who finished with 13 points in the game, hit two, as did Barrett, who was making his third start after taking over at point guard for Anthony Robinson.

Mizzou’s T.O. Barrett defends against Mississippi State’s Ja’borri McGhee during Saturday’s SEC basketball game at Mizzou Arena. (Photo: Terrance Williams)

Mississippi State responded with a 10-0 run to take its first lead at 26-25, midway through the first half. Missouri answered by controlling the rest of the first half and taking a 42-35 lead into halftime.

The Tigers built their lead to 16 points early in the second half, before a tough injury to guard Annor Boateng and a 11-2 run by Mississippi State, pulled the visitors to with three points with two minutes left.

Boateng had just made a spectacular putback dunk and had the ball again on Missouri’s next possession. But as he went up for a shot, he seemed to slip and fell on his back. While down, Boateng immediately grabbed for his left knee and all in the building gasped as it was clear he was injured.

The game was stopped for five minutes of real time, while medical workers tended to Boateng and carted him off the court on a stretcher. From that moment on, the Tigers seemed distracted and concerned about their teammate, while Mississippi State mounted its comeback.

Mizzou’s Anthony Robinson defends against Mississippi State’s Josh Hubbard during Saturday’s SEC basketball game at Mizzou Arena. (Photo: Terrance Williams)

With its lead cut to 74-71 with two minutes to play, Mizzou composed itself enough to get three straight defensive stops, while it also strung together seven consecutive made free throws versus one MSU basket, to push ahead 81-73 with 45 seconds left.

The Bulldogs added a couple of threes and Mizzou added a few more free throws to close out the game and the Tigers’ xxx home win this season.

“I know me personally, it kind of messed with me a bit mentally, just seeing my brother go down like that. You could see the pain on his face, like his facial expressions and things like that,” Barrett said. “But ultimately, we kept pushing through. We stayed together and got the dub.”

The Tigers, who are now 15-7 on the season and 5-4 in SEC play, will be off for the next seven days and won’t return to action until next Saturday, February 7, when they will hit the road to take on South Carolina.

Tip off for that contest is set for noon, and the game will be televised nationally on the SEC Network.

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.
February 10, 2026 (Tuesday)8 pmAwayTexas A&MCollege Station, Texas
February 14, 2026 (Saturday)7:30 pmHomeTexasMizzou Arena
February 17, 2026 (Tuesday)8 pmHomeVanderbiltMizzou Arena
February 21, 2026 (Saturday)3 pmAwayArkansasFayetteville, Ark.
February 24, 2026 (Tuesday)8 pmHomeTennesseeMizzou Arena
February 28, 2026 (Saturday)12 pmAwayMississippi StateStarkville, Miss.
March 3, 2026 (Tuesday)6 pmAwayOklahomaNorman, Okla.
March 7, 2026 (Saturday)11 amHomeArkansasMizzou Arena