The Missouri Tigers came into their game against Florida on Saturday unranked, while the Gators came in at No. 22 in the country. But following Missouri’s upset win, 76-74, the Tigers made their case to enter the top 25 on Monday. Following the team’s win against Florida, Missouri head coach Dennis Gates explained why he had to thank his players, as per PowerMizzou.com.
“I want to thank our guys for allowing me to be the biggest a**hole known to man in the last week,” Gates said.
Missouri was coming off a brutal loss to Illinois in which they were blown out, 91-48, which probably laid the foundation for Dennis Gates to put the team through a tough week of practice. But the past week seemed to pay off as the Tigers grabbed one of their biggest wins of the season.
It was Anthony Robinson II who led the way for Missouri with 19 points, eight rebounds, five assists and two steals in 35 minutes of play. Mark Mitchell added 14 points and Jacob Crews finished with 13 points. With the win, the Tigers improved to 11-3 on the season, and 1-0 in SEC play.
For Gates, this is his fourth season at the helm as head coach of the Tigers. He took over in 2022-23 after three years at Cleveland State. In the past three seasons, he’s led Missouri to two NCAA Tournament appearances. Last season, Missouri was a No. 6 seed, and was upset by No. 11 Drake in the round of 64.
While Missouri is having a solid start to the year, Gates has also been largely successful on the recruiting trail with five-star recruit Jason Crowe Jr., and four-star recruits Toni Bryant and Aidan Chronister set to join the program next season.
