Dennis Gates reacts to Missouri Tigers’ loss to Kentucky Wildcats on Senior Day
No. 15 Mizzou men’s basketball concluded its regular season with a 91-83 loss to No. 19 Kentucky on Saturday afternoon at Mizzou Arena. The loss, plus a 90-71 win for fifth-ranked Florida over Ole Miss, guaranteed the Tigers the seventh seed in the SEC Tournament.
“If we said (our seeding) to you guys before the season, y’all would laugh at me,” Missouri coach Dennis Gates said. “I think our team has earned the respect from other programs and other fans and all college basketball enthusiasts.”
Mizzou will face the winner of 10th-seeded Mississippi State vs. No. 15 seed LSU at 6 p.m. Thursday at Bridgestone Arena in Nashville. The Bulldogs and LSU face off at 6 p.m. Wednesday.
A crucial component that hindered the Tigers (21-10, 10-8 Southeastern Conference) in their loss to the Wildcats (21-10, 10-8) was their turnover total.
“Backcourt turnovers that led to uncontested layups that whether we were running away from an outlet or trying to make a move,” Gates said. “Those situations that I speak of led directly to layups. Those were points off turnovers.”
Gates mentioned that Kentucky took advantage of open possessions off MU’s offensive blunders.
“We’re at a point of the season where mistakes have to be minimized and the mistakes (were) points off turnovers today,” the third-year coach said.
Sophomore guard Anthony Robinson II corralled the ball for a defensive rebound and attempted to throw an outlet pass to spur a fast-break opportunity.
Wildcats graduate forward Andrew Carr intercepted the dish and assisted junior guard Otega Oweh on a layup to give Kentucky a 43-30 advantage with 17:57 remaining in the second half.
Graduate guard Caleb Grill hauled in a missed layup from Oweh and gave the ball to senior guard Tamar Bates, who had a miscue of his own.
The Kansas City product was immediately stripped by Oweh, and the Newark, New Jersey, product rattled the rim with a slam dunk to give the Wildcats a 15-11 lead with 8:43 remaining in the first half.
“Probably about eight of their points specifically never got defended because of our mistakes and turnovers that led to layups and dunks,” Gates said. “Those are self-inflicting wounds.”
The Wildcats scored 20 points off turnovers compared to the Tigers’ 19, with both teams finishing with 10 turnovers each. Kentucky recorded 13 assists to Missouri’s nine.
One turnover, however, may have been more costly than the others.
Graduate guard Tony Perkins was ripped by Oweh, who converted a fast-break layup over Perkins’ contest. The Iowa transfer came up limping and was substituted out of the game for Robinson with the Wildcats holding a 66-51 advantage with 9:45 left in the second half.
Perkins did not return.
“He could’ve gone back in, but Marques Warrick was playing well,” Gates said. “It was great to see Tony walk. ... That was a freak accident, I thought he got tripped, but he didn’t. But his knee gave out on him, so nothing has come of it.”
Warrick scored 17 points in 14 minutes off the bench. He scored all of his points within the last 9:23 of the bout.
“He impacted the game,” Gates said. “So at that point, I knew I was going to leave him in.”
The graduate guard had yet to take the court against his hometown team despite playing four years at Northern Kentucky.
“It was on my calendar,” Warrick said. “I wish we played at Lexington because I would’ve had a whole crowd there, but it felt good to just be out there and play against a team I’ve watched ever since I was a little kid, and I went to games.”
Warrick finished 5-for-8 shooting from the field and 4-for-6 from beyond the arc, adding two steals in his final game at Mizzou Arena.
The Tigers’ 18-2 Mizzou Arena record ties the program record for most home wins a season, first set when MU went 18-0 at home in the 2008-09 season.
Copyright 2025 Columbia Missourian
This story was originally published March 8, 2025 at 8:20 PM with the headline "Dennis Gates reacts to Missouri Tigers’ loss to Kentucky Wildcats on Senior Day."