How Dennis Gates viewed Mizzou’s loss to Texas A&M — and what he wants to see next
Missouri men’s basketball had its back against the wall, trailing by three with 2.1 seconds remaining in the second half.
The previous possession, Texas A&M graduate guard Wade Taylor IV caught the ball well past the half-court line. The 6-foot guard took three dribbles and dished the ball to senior forward Andersson Garcia in the high post.
Garcia shimmied, took one dribble to his right and bounced the ball to Taylor, who caught it on the right wing and fired a 3-pointer over the contest of Mizzou graduate guard Marques Warrick.
“I knew he was going to shoot the ball. I think everybody in the gym knew that,” Mizzou coach Dennis Gates said. “If it was up to me, I would do the same lineup that was out there defensively.”
The off-balance shot swished, propelling the No. 10 Aggies past the No. 15 Tigers 67-64 on Saturday afternoon at Mizzou Arena.
“I saw a (2023) preseason (SEC) Player of the Year make a tough shot,” Gates said. “He was 2-for-8 from the 3, and I thought we were able to contest some shots from him early in that half and even throughout the game. ... Players make plays, and he was able to make the play over a tough contest.”
Mizzou (17-6, 6-4 SEC) appeared to be unstoppable throughout the first 15 home games of the season, constantly finding a way to get out of tumultuous situations.
Whether it was a season-low 13.6% (3-for-22) outing from beyond the arc against Howard on Nov. 8 or a 16-point (51-35) halftime deficit to California in the second annual ACC/SEC Challenge on Dec. 3, the Tigers have had an answer to the calls of the Mizzou Arena crowd.
With just over two seconds remaining in MU’s second top-15 bout, it looked like Mizzou magic might strike again as graduate guard Caleb Grill hurled a double-clutched half-court shot.
Grill has grown famous throughout the college basketball world over the last few weeks, shooting a red-hot 50.9% (28-for-55) from 3-point range in the past eight games leading into the matchup.
“I think he’s critical to their team,” Texas A&M coach Buzz Williams said. “(Grill) has played unbelievably well.”
The Wichita product was a shadow of himself in 33 minutes of play up to that point against the Aggies, though.
Texas A&M (18-5, 7-3) was able to cool Grill’s hot streak, holding the Week 11 Southeastern Conference Player of the Week to a frigid 20% (1-for-5) from the field with no makes (0-for-4) from deep.
“We just try to do what every other team (does), just try to limit his shot,” Taylor said. “We know he’s going to make tough ones. We try our best. He’s still a phenomenal player.”
Grill’s last-second attempt was off the mark, missing wide, catching rim and adding a blemish to the Tigers’ 2024-25 home record.
“I’m just thankful he wasn’t able to make it,” Taylor said.
The Aggies kickstarted a strong first-half performance with a 12-0 scoring surge after the Tigers had multiple offensive possessions thwarted by Texas A&M’s stout defense.
Mizzou senior guard Tamar Bates had his first 3-point attempt of the game blocked by senior guard Manny Obaseki and Mizzou junior Mark Mitchell had an attempt in the paint swatted by junior big man Pharrel Payne, both in the first five minutes.
Sophomore guard Anthony Robinson II also succumbed to the Aggies’ defensive pressure, throwing the ball out of bounds with 16:14 remaining.
Mizzou still managed to manufacture a handful of “energy-giving behaviors” — as dubbed by the team to describe plays that bring life to them — throughout the contest to fuel respective comebacks.
Warrick received a near full-court pass from freshman Marcus Allen, dribbled once and flicked the ball in the air toward a soaring Grill.
Grill caught the ball and rattled the rim with a two-handed alley-oop dunk to cut No. 10 Texas A&M’s lead to 49-45 with 10:36 left in the second half.
The jam ended a Tigers scoring drought of over three minutes and ignited a late-game surge that gave the Columbia squad its first lead of the contest. The highlight caused the Mizzou Arena crowd to stand up for the first time since the drought.
Warrick was responsible for another energy surge down the stretch, intercepting a pass from Garcia and throwing an alley-oop pass to Bates with 53 seconds remaining in the game.
Bates rose high to punch home a left-handed dunk to give MU a 64-63 lead.
“We ended up with 17 fast-break points, which was tremendous, because we got 10 steals, live-ball turnovers,” Gates said. “Our guys got up and down the court and were able to get there before their defense got settled.”
Bates, a 6-5 Kansas City product, led all Missouri scorers with 16 points, three rebounds and a steal.
Graduate forward Jacob Crews and Mitchell joined Bates in double-digit scoring with 14 and 12 points, respectively.
Crews shot his second-highest percentage from 3-point range on the season at 75% (3-for-4), rivaling a 100% (1-for-1) outing in an 84-77 win over Eastern Washington on Nov. 11.
“I felt my touch today,” said Crews, who also added two rebounds and two steals. “I just played free and just made some plays. (I) felt good, got a groove (and) kept it going.”
Grill finished with four points, three rebounds, two assists and a steal, but Gates does not believe that his low scoring output was the primary culprit to the loss.
“The gravity of which Caleb Grill played and was on the court was more important than the points,” Gates said. “He spaced the court for Tamar. He spaced the court for Crews to be able to operate.”
The Tigers shot 39.6% (21-for-53) from the field and 23.8% (5-for-21) from deep — marking their lowest field goal and second-lowest 3-point percentages of the season at Mizzou Arena.
“Shots just didn’t fall,” Bates said. “Just little bunnies around the rim, even myself, it just (was) uncharacteristic misses. (They were) shots that we usually make in the paint or 3s. The ball just didn’t go in and sometimes that happens.”
The Tigers next take the court against Oklahoma (16-7, 3-7) at 8 p.m. Wednesday at Mizzou Arena. MU’s search for its first win over the Sooners since a narrow 71-68 triumph Feb. 6, 2012, will be broadcast on SEC Network.
“The ironic thing about this conference: You can play well and still lose a game,” Gates said. “That’s how good this conference is. We lost our last two games by a total of seven points to two top-10 teams — one on a last-second 3. How much better do you want our guys to play?
“I want them to continue to build on and continue to get better and not focus on the past but learn the lessons and move forward, because that’s what’s important in this conference.”
Copyright 2025 Columbia Missourian
This story was originally published February 9, 2025 at 6:45 AM with the headline "How Dennis Gates viewed Mizzou’s loss to Texas A&M — and what he wants to see next."