Missouri’s Tamar Bates takes a falling shot as Seton Hall’s Kadary Richmond (1) tries to block it, during Sunday’s NCAA basketball game at T-Mobile Center in Kansas City. (Photo: Haromma Dickerson)
| NCAA Men’s Basketball | 1 | 2 | Final |
|---|---|---|---|
| Seton Hall (7-4) | 42 | 51 | 93 |
| Missouri (7-4) | 38 | 49 | 87 |
Terrance Williams
Staff Writer
KANSAS CITY, MO — In what proved to be a truly disappointing performance, the University of Missouri men’s basketball team suffered a 93-87 loss to Seton Hall, Sunday afternoon at the T-Mobile Center.
The Tigers went through several stretches of not being able to score, while at the same time, for most of the night, seemed unable to stop Seton Hall from scoring.
Mizzou did rally late, but in the end, it proved to be not enough as the Pirates sank Mizzou’s ship.
“Hats off to Seton Hall,” Missouri head coach Dennis Gates said. “They are one of Ken Pomeroy’s top-20 defenses, half court wise. That is
an unbelievable basketball team, great coach, and an NCAA tournament team. There’s no doubt about it. I thought they did a tremendous job during the course of the game.”
So much so, that Seton Hall shot 59 percent for the game and saw each of its starters score in double figures. The Pirates led by as many as 19 points in the second half, and save fof Missouri’s late rally, Seton Hall cruised to what could be an important victory come NCAA Tournament selection time.
“It is impossible to win ball games if your opponent’s going to shoot 60 percent from the field,” Gates said. “They made shots where they were consistently making five three-pointers a game, on average. You know, their players made plays and they ended up with 10 threes in the game today.
“The other part of it was their assists. I thought they were very unselfish with the ball, being able to find some open looks and move how they needed to move. But credit our opponents. That’s a great team. I credit our guys as well for what they did in the last four minutes of that game. And if we can bottle that last four minutes up, it will be a completely different game. I just thought our guys overthought trying to play perfect in that situation.”
Seton Hall’s Al-Amir Dawes led all scorers with 25 points, which included four three-pointers, while teammates Dylan Addae-Wusu and Dre Davis added 20 points and 19 points, respectively.
For Mizzou, junior guard Tamar Bates, who was playing near his hometown of Kansas City, Kan., matched a career-high with 22 points to lead the Tigers. Seniors Sean East and Nick Honor added 16 points and 14 points, with East adding six assists as well.
“Yeah, it was definitely nice (playing at home),” Bates said. “The only time I’ve ever played in this arena was when I was in the sixth grade, at halftime of the Kansas State and North Carolina game. I scored the first bucket and my parents sent Coach Gates the video before the game.
“It was just nice to actually be able to play here and have a full circle moment. I’m sure Aiden can say the same, but I had a lot of my family here and people I went to high school with. It was really nice being able to come back home.”
Seton Hall led 42-38 at halftime, but the key stretches in the game came in the second half, beginning with an early run that gave the Pirates their first big lead.
Mizzou began the second half with a layup, but Seton Hall responded with a 12-1 run. Then after the teams traded baskets for several minutes, the Pirates scored seven straight points, capped by a resounding slam dunk by Davis, that made the score 75-56.
“That’s just Big East basketball.” Gates said. “At the end of the day, this team relies on driving very physical drives as it relates to its offense. Being able to get downhill, they made some tough paint shots. Really good paint shots. I credit those guys for making plays.”
To its credit, Mizzou didn’t quit. The Tigers went on a 14-1 run to pull within 76-70 with just over three minutes left to play.
But that was as close as the Tigers would get, as Seton Hall made a couple of clutch shots and several important free throws down the stretch to put the game away.
“I feel like just when we tip the ball up, we have to start the game with a mentality that we are already down 20,” Bates said. “I feel like when we dig those holes, that’s when we get desperate. We play really hard, and you can see that in that last four minutes.
“We just have to be able to change our mindset, whether it’s at the beginning of the game or if it’s after the team makes a run. We have to be able to not let our energy be dictated off making shots and being able to play hard no matter what the scoreboard says.”
Missouri will be back in action on Friday, when it heads to St. Louis to play its annual Braggin’ Rights Game against Illinois at the Enterprise Center. That contest will tip off at 8 p.m., and will be televised nationally on ESPN.
Seton Hall 93
| ## | Player | GS | MIN | FG | 3PT | FT | ORB-DRB | REB | PF | A | TO | BLK | STL | PTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 02 | Dawes,Al-Amir | * | 38 | 9-16 | 4-11 | 3-4 | 0-0 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 25 |
| 00 | Addae-Wusu,Dylan | * | 38 | 6-8 | 4-6 | 4-6 | 2-4 | 6 | 3 | 6 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 20 |
| 14 | Davis,Dre | * | 33 | 8-13 | 2-2 | 1-1 | 4-4 | 8 | 4 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 19 |
| 01 | Richmond,Kadary | * | 36 | 5-8 | 0-1 | 4-7 | 0-5 | 5 | 0 | 4 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 14 |
| 15 | Bediako,Jaden | * | 22 | 4-7 | 0-0 | 3-3 | 5-3 | 8 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 11 |
| 21 | Coleman,Isaiah | 14 | 1-3 | 0-2 | 0-0 | 0-1 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | |
| 04 | Hutchins-Everett,Elijah | 13 | 0-1 | 0-1 | 2-2 | 0-1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | |
| 13 | Sanders,Jaquan | 5 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 1-0 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 22 | Brown,Malachi | 1 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| TM | TEAM | 0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Totals | – | 200 | 33-56 | 10-23 | 17-23 | 12-19 | 31 | 18 | 16 | 15 | 4 | 5 | 93 |
Missouri 87
| ## | Player | GS | MIN | FG | 3PT | FT | ORB-DRB | REB | PF | A | TO | BLK | STL | PTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 02 | Bates,Tamar | * | 28 | 7-12 | 4-4 | 4-4 | 2-0 | 2 | 4 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 22 |
| 55 | East II,Sean | * | 36 | 6-12 | 2-3 | 2-4 | 0-3 | 3 | 2 | 6 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 16 |
| 10 | Honor,Nick | * | 36 | 4-9 | 2-6 | 4-4 | 0-1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 14 |
| 35 | Carter,Noah | * | 26 | 1-12 | 1-6 | 6-7 | 4-5 | 9 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 9 |
| 23 | Shaw,Aidan | * | 13 | 0-1 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 1-1 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 13 | Carralero Martin,Jesus | 17 | 3-7 | 0-1 | 2-2 | 2-1 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 8 | |
| 11 | Pierce,Trent | 6 | 3-3 | 2-2 | 0-0 | 0-1 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 8 | |
| 75 | Vanover,Connor | 10 | 2-2 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 1-0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4 | |
| 05 | Tonje,John | 8 | 1-1 | 0-0 | 1-1 | 0-0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 | |
| 14 | Robinson II,Anthony | 7 | 1-3 | 1-2 | 0-0 | 0-1 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | |
| 00 | Butler,Jordan | 7 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | |
| 04 | Lewis,Curt | 3 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 45 | Majak,Mabor | 3 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| TM | TEAM | 0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 5-0 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Totals | – | 200 | 28-62 | 12-24 | 19-22 | 15-14 | 29 | 21 | 14 | 13 | 3 | 3 | 87 |
2023-24 Mizzou Tigers Men’s Basketball Schedule
| Date | Time | At | Opponent | Location | TV |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| December 22, 2023 (Friday) | 8 p.m. | Enterprise Center | #24 Illinois | St. Louis, Mo. |  |
| December 30, 2023 (Saturday) | 2 p.m. | Home | Central Arkansas | Mizzou Arena |  |
| January 6, 2024 (Saturday) | Noon | Home | Georgia | Mizzou Arena | |
| January 9, 2024 (Tuesday) | 6 p.m. | Away | #12 Kentucky | Lexington, Ky. |  |
| January 13, 2024 (Saturday) | 2:30 p.m. | Home | South Carolina | Mizzou Arena | |
| January 16, 2024 (Tuesday) | 6 p.m. | Away | #23 Alabama | Tuscaloosa, Ala. | |
| January 20, 2024 (Saturday) | TBA | Home | Florida | Mizzou Arena | ESPN or ESPN2 |
| January 23, 2024 (Tuesday) | 8 p.m. | Away | #14 Texas A&M | College Station, Texas | |
| January 27, 2024 (Saturday) | Noon CT | Away | South Carolina | Columbia, S.C. | |
| January 31, 2024 (Wednesday) | 7:30 p.m. | Home | Arkansas | Mizzou Arena | |
| February 3, 2024 (Saturday) | 2:30 p.m. | Away | Vanderbilt | Nashville, Tenn. | |
| February 7, 2024 (Wednesday) | 8 p.m. | Home | #14 Texas A&M | Mizzou Arena |  |
| February 10, 2024 (Saturday) | 7:30 p.m. | Home | Mississippi State | Mizzou Arena | |
| February 17, 2024 (Saturday) | 7:30 p.m. | Away | Ole Miss | Oxford, Miss. | |
| February 20, 2024 (Tuesday) | 6 p.m. | Home | #10 Tennessee | Mizzou Arena | |
| February 24, 2024 (Saturday) | 11 a.m. | Away | Arkansas | Fayetteville, Ark. | ESPN or ESPN2 |
| February 28, 2024 (Wednesday) | 5:30 p.m. CT | Away | Florida | Gainesville, Fla. | |
| March 2, 2024 (Saturday) | 7:30 p.m. | Home | Ole Miss | Mizzou Arena | |
| March 5, 2024 (Tuesday) | 8 p.m. | Home | Auburn | Mizzou Arena | |
| March 9, 2024 (Saturday) | 7:30 p.m. | Away | LSU | Baton Rouge, La. | |
| March 13-17, 2024 (Wednesday) | TBA | Bridgestone Arena | SEC Tournament | Nashville, Tenn. |