Why Dennis Gates says ceiling of Missouri Tigers basketball ‘has not been reached yet’
No. 15 Missouri men’s basketball looks to make program history yet again when the Tigers take the court against No. 4 Tennessee at 6 p.m. Wednesday at Thompson-Boling Arena at Food City Center in Knoxville, Tennessee.
Mizzou (17-4, 6-2 Southeastern Conference) comes into the matchup after a record-shattering week of its own, securing an 88-61 upset over then-No. 14 Mississippi State on Saturday at Humphrey Coliseum in Starkville, Mississippi.
The win not only marked the Tigers’ largest margin of victory against a ranked team on the road since beating then-No. 17 Kansas State 85-72 on March 3, 1956, in Manhattan, but also was the first time the Columbia squad secured two ranked road victories within the same calendar year since 1999.
MU picked up a 71-63 away win against then-No. 19 Kansas on Jan. 24, 1999, at Allen Fieldhouse in Lawrence, and a 78-72 neutral-site Braggin’ Rights triumph over then-No. 15 Illinois on Dec. 21, 1999, at the Kiel Center — now Enterprise Center — in St. Louis.
The Tigers continued making history into the new week, receiving their highest Associated Press Top 25 ranking in the Dennis Gates era and since 2020-2021.
Missouri ranked as high as No. 20 in the Week 9 (Jan. 2, 2023) and Week 10 (Jan. 9, 2023) polls in the 2022-23 campaign, and also last landed at No. 20 without Gates at the helm in the Week 13 (Feb. 15, 2021) poll in the 2020-21 season.
The Tigers, led by former MU coach Cuonzo Martin, reached as high as No. 10 that campaign in the Week 12 (Feb. 8, 2021) poll.
With a win against the Volunteers (18-4, 5-4), Mizzou could ascend even further into the AP Top 25 and make more program history by securing back-to-back road triumphs against ranked foes for the first time ever.
“The ceiling of our team has not been reached yet. I truly believe that there’s another level or two that we can go to,” Missouri coach Dennis Gates said at a news conference Monday. “Making sure that we’re showing up from an emotional, mental and physical standpoint to each and every game, no matter the environment. ... We’ve yet to play a game where every single person is playing up to their potential and that’s what I gauge it off of.”
A Tigers player who is firing on all cylinders within the past few games is Caleb Grill.
The graduate guard is averaging 21.3 points on 5.7 3-pointers in Mizzou’s past three ranked contests against then-No. 5 Florida (83-82 on Jan. 14), then-No. 16 Ole Miss (83-75 on Jan. 25) and Mississippi State.
“Confidence is something that a coach can instill in his players, but also confidence is something that players instill in each other,” Gates said, “because you have to remain comfortable in taking those risks and, whatever risks that they are, I just want our guys to quote-unquote play where they see and have seen their success. And I think, ultimately, I’m just here to reinforce and encourage.”
Grill currently ranks third nationally in Box Plus-Minus — a box score-based metric attributed to how well a player performs for his team when on the court — with a value of 14.1, according to Bart Torvik.
The Wichita product ranks only behind Duke freshman Cooper Flagg (14.1) and Auburn big Johni Broome (15.4), who land at No. 2 and No. 1, respectively.
Other Tigers are contributing, too.
Despite a performance against the Bulldogs that consisted of six turnovers and four fouls, sophomore guard Anthony Robinson II ranks third nationally on EvanMiya’s top “glue guys” list released Monday on X.
The college basketball analytics website ranked the glue guys based off Bayesian Performance Rating, or overall player impact. The player must average fewer than 10 points per game to qualify.
Robinson’s average of 9.9 points barely surpasses the threshold and he holds a BPR of 7.07. The 6-foot-3 Tallahassee, Florida, product trails Auburn graduate center Dylan Cardwell (8.14) at No. 2 and Houston sophomore forward JoJo Tugler (8.48) at No. 1.
Missouri will need to utilize Grill and Robinson effectively against the Vols because the Columbia squad is predicted to fall 71-62 with a 21% chance of winning, per KenPom. ESPN’s matchup predictors give MU only a 16.8% win probability.
Tennessee holds a 12-10 series record against the Tigers, with the last bout resulting in a 72-67 win for the then-No. 5 Vols on Feb. 20 last season at Mizzou Arena.
Notably, the road team has won the past six meetings with Mizzou upsetting then-No. 6 Tennessee 86-85 in its last trip to the Marble City thanks to DeAndre Gholston’s buzzer-beating 3-pointer from Caleb Grill range.
A top-15 bout between the Tigers and Vols is not something out of the ordinary for both teams, as the two have battled under similar circumstances before.
Then-No. 12 Missouri was routed 73-53 by No. 7 Tennessee in its SEC opener on Dec. 30, 2020, at Mizzou Arena. Xavier Pinson was the lone Tigers player to finish in double-digit scoring, posting 11 points.
Similar to previous clashes, the Vols have the potential finish their Week 14 home contest with four double-digit scorers. Graduate guard Chaz Lanier averages 17.9 points per game, while senior guard Zakai Zeigler (12.3), senior guard Jordan Gainey (11) and senior forward Igor Miličić Jr. (10.4) also post double figures.
Tennessee’s depth was in full force in its 64-44 home drubbing of Florida on Saturday, with Zeigler and Miličić ruled out of the contest. The former was sidelined with a right knee injury, while the latter contracted flu-like symptoms.
Despite being shorthanded — only seven of its nine available players were on scholarship — Lanier, Gainey and junior forward Felix Okpala filled the void, finishing with 19, 16 and 10 points, respectively.
Zeigler seemingly confirmed his return against the Tigers on the “Locker Room” talk show Sunday.
“I’m good. I’ll be back next game. Simple as that,” said Zeigler, who is also averaging 3.5 rebounds, 7.4 assists and 2.1 steals.
Regarding Zeigler and Miličić’s game-time statuses, Gates is making sure Mizzou is preparing for a scenario where everyone is healthy. Both were absent from the initial availability report from Tuesday.
“We assume everybody’s going to play regardless of their injury,” Gates said. “They have depth. They have veterans. They have experience. This is an important stretch, but the big picture (is) teams are going to have to start making decisions as it relates to who’s playing, when they’re going to play because of health, but also, they don’t want to put their guys in any kind of situation that compromises their entire team.”
In addition to the Vols’ experience and depth, Gates believes their ability of thwarting shots and home atmosphere are aspects to look out for.
“They are No. 1 in rim protection. They’re No. 1 in a lot of categories defensively, and they’re going to do a great job,” Gates said. “That environment is going to be a tough environment to play in, and it’s my job to get our guys prepared.”
The Tigers look to expand upon their string of AP Top 25 upsets against Tennessee, which will be broadcast on the SEC Network.
Copyright 2025 Columbia Missourian
This story was originally published February 5, 2025 at 6:00 AM with the headline "Why Dennis Gates says ceiling of Missouri Tigers basketball ‘has not been reached yet’."