How Tamar Bates, Missouri Tigers survived SEC Tournament opener vs. Mississippi State
It’s that time of year again, when three words become prevalent and all-important:
Survive and advance.
In a total slugfest effort, No. 7-seeded Mizzou escaped the No. 10-seed Mississippi State Bulldogs to open postseason play with an 85-73 win in the second round of the SEC Tournament.
There was never a point in which Mizzou felt comfortable in this one. There were nine lead changes, and the score was tied 17 times Thursday at Bridgestone Arena in Nashville.
Finally, Mizzou pulled in front by six with 2:10 left. At that point, it was the largest Mizzou lead of the night.
Josh Hubbard presented issues for the Tigers. The Bulldogs star tallied 24 points on 7-of-20 shooting. KeShawn Murphy followed with 18 points, tying his season-high against SEC opponents.
Hubbard knotted the score at 67-all with a 3-pointer with 4:52 remaining. But then the Tigers were gifted a break, as Mississippi State went ice cold. The Bulldogs didn’t make another field goal until Hubbard’s final points of the night with 26 seconds left.
The Tigers shot 49.1% from the field, as well as 33.3% from 3-point range. In a game as close as this one, free throws were equally as important: Mizzou went 23-of-28 from the line to the Bulldogs’ 19-of-27.
With all that seemed to be going wrong, it was KC-native Tamar Bates and Tony Perkins who pushed the Tigers ahead. Bates finished his night with 25 points on 8-for-12 shooting, and Perkins tallied 20 points while going 6-for-10.
The two also combined for 14 free throw attempts, making all of them: Perkins with 8, Bates with 6.
Next up: The Tigers (22-10) will attempt to replicate their January upset over No. 2-seeded Florida (27-4). Tipoff for the SEC quarterfinal, Missouri vs. Florida, is set for 6 p.m. Friday on the SEC Network.
Until then, here are some takeaways from the Tigers’ first postseason win...
Turnovers kept this game close
Florida head coach Todd Golden even said it during the SEC Network’s halftime show: Mizzou would have been running away with it if it hadn’t been for 10 first-half turnovers.
Mizzou went into halftime up 39-34, a margin that would’ve been 36-34 if not for Caleb Grill’s buzzer-beating 3. Mississippi State (21-12) was struggling to score, shooting only 35.1% in the half, but the Bulldogs scored eight points off 10 Missouri turnovers.
Keep that number in mind as the Tigers advance to face Florida. In Missouri’s upset win on January 14, the Tigers allowed only six total points off turnovers, zero in the first half.
What’s Mark Mitchell’s status?
Mark Mitchell exited the game with a knee injury, one that was clearly ailing him in the first half as he only played 12 minutes.
A Mizzou spokesperson confirmed to the Columbia Daily Tribune that Mitchell wouldn’t be available for the rest of the contest against the Bulldogs.
Will he return on Friday? An immediate update on his status was not available postgame.
Mitchell finished with seven points, one rebound and two turnovers. He was a second-team All-SEC selection by the AP.
Ant Robinson had a big game
The sophomore was in foul trouble early, drawing two fouls by the 16-minute mark in the first half. Coach Dennis Gates pulled him for more than 10 minutes of game time, and the consequences showed.
Mississippi State only had three turnovers in the entire first half, and the Tigers managed just one steal.
Robinson sits second in the SEC in averaging two steals per game. MU missed his peskiness on defense in that time.
Robinson ultimately collected four fouls, paired with more foul trouble from Josh Gray. The big man had 12 rebounds, but also four fouls.
If Mitchell misses time, Dennis Gates’ team won’t be able to afford losing more pieces to foul trouble.
Should Gates be concerned about Grill?
Mizzou’s sharpshooter ended the regular season going 2-for-6 from 3 against Kentucky, a drop from how he’d been performing as one of the top 3-point shooters (42.3%) in the country.
Ideally, the Kentucky game was a fluke ... but then he was even colder against the Bulldogs.
Grill’s buzzer-beater was the only 3-point shot he made, and his shots from inside weren’t landing either. He went 1-for-9 overall (1-for-7 from 3).
Not the best time to deal with your sharpshooter off the bench hitting a cold streak.
This story was originally published March 13, 2025 at 10:00 PM.
