Mizzou earns important SEC win vs. Mississippi State — but there’s bad news, too
The Missouri Tigers were inconsistent early, but they earned a critical SEC win over Mississippi State on Saturday at Mizzou Arena.
The Tigers largely relied on Mark Mitchell in their 84-79 victory. Mitchell scored 12 points (8-for-10 on free throws) with six rebounds in the second half alone.
Mitchell finished with 19 points, seven rebounds and four assists. T.O. Barrett added 16 points, eight rebounds and four assists for Mizzou.
The Tigers came out fast and aggressive from the 3-point line, taking 18 attempts from deep in the first half. They made five within the first six minutes of play and totaled eight makes in the period.
Barrett and Trent Pierce (13 points) led that charge, making two 3s apiece in that six-minute stretch.
“Players make plays,” head coach Dennis Gates told reporters postgame. “You’ve got to have the guts to make shots, and you’ve got to have a short-term memory on whatever mistakes you make during the game.”
Gates said Barrett and Pierce have come a long way in that regard.
“What I love is the development these guys have had mentally as freshmen,” Gates said. “They were just trying to be perfect and they couldn’t recover from their mistakes or were afraid to take risks. Now, you see the growth to Barrett as a sophomore being able to take risks. Trent Pierce, he hasn’t seen a shot he didn’t like, and that’s what I love most about him.”
Another area that aided Mizzou’s effort? Free-throw shooting.
The Tigers went 25-for-33 from the line Saturday. Mitchell and Barrett each made eight foul shots, matching the total made by Missouri last game. The Tigers went just 8-for-23 at the line in a loss to Alabama.
“We’ve been back in the gym working on it,” Barrett said. “... It clearly shows.”
Even more important, the Tigers made their free throws late. They went 10-for-12 in the final two minutes to hold off the Bulldogs.
“That’s good coaching,” Gates said. “I was able to telepathically get into their brain right there on the line, start whispering to them, ‘Calm down, calm down.’ And you saw that.”
Even with the win, though, the Tigers got some bad news — which could linger the rest of the year.
Annor Boateng left on a stretcher after slipping while going up for a dunk in the second half. He was down for several minutes before exiting on the stretcher with a cast on his leg.
Gates opened his postgame news conference by saying that while there wasn’t a formal update on Boateng just yet, “nine times out of 10” a player in that situation will be out for the remainder of the season.
“I know, personally, it kind of messed me up a little bit mentally,” Barrett said. “Just seeing my brother go down like that. But ultimately we kept pushing through. We stayed together and kept it up for him.”
Shawn Phillips Jr. also left the game early with an apparent ankle injury.
On paper, this win looked dominating. The Tigers led for over 37 minutes and by as many as 16 points.
But the Bulldogs regularly made it interesting. It was a seven-point game at half, and Mississippi State actually outscored Mizzou 44-42 in the second period. That included a 27-18 Bulldogs spurt after Boateng’s departure.
Mississippi State even cut the deficit to three with 2 minutes, 22 seconds left.
This game, like many to come down the stretch, carried extra weight for a Missouri team hoping to return to the NCAA Tournament. The Tigers are now 5-4 in SEC play. Saturday was likely their last Quad 3 game of the season.
The Tigers are 3-4 against Quad 1 and 1-3 against Quad 2 opponents.
“We take it one game at a time,” Barrett said. “I don’t think stuff like that (the postseason) is on our mind. We just do what we do, and come to work.”
Next up: Mizzou returns to the floor on Feb. 7, visiting the Columbia out east in South Carolina. Tipoff against the South Carolina Gamecocks is set for 12 p.m.
This story was originally published January 31, 2026 at 5:26 PM.
