Mizzou Basketball Determined to Flip the Page in 2024-'25 Season

After a season at the bottom of the SEC, Missouri men's basketball looks to return to being a legitimate contender in the conference.

Chase Gemes | Oct 9, 2024

Feb 17, 2024; Oxford, Mississippi, USA; Missouri Tigers head coach Dennis Gates walks off the court after being defeated by the Mississippi Rebels at The Sandy and John Black Pavilion at Ole Miss. Mandatory Credit: Petre Thomas-Imagn Images / Petre Thomas-Imagn Images

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Dennis Gates' second year at the helm of the Missouri men's basketball program was anything but ideal.

Through failing to fill in the gap that Kobe Brown and D'Moi Hodge left, injuries to some of their best players along with inconsistencies in rebounding and free-throw shooting, the Tigers finished with an 0-18 record in the SEC. After making an NCAA Tournament appearance the previous season, it was an unexpected, steep drop off.

Gates was presented with a challenge to get the program back on track during the offseason, so he quickly went to work, adding 11 new players to the roster.

The Tigers want to get back on an upward trajectory and compete for an SEC championship once again. The roster is young, but they've added experienced talent and retained seniors Tamar Bates and Caleb Grill from last year's team to help maintain some stability.

"This team will build their own story," Gates said during Wednesday's Media Day. "We have a banner up, and behind that banner is everybody's name who was a part of that team. So, these guys are ready."

Gates was talking about the 2023-24 roster, but it applies through all the teams throughout the history of Missouri's program. The fans that fill up Mizzou Arena see those banners, but as Gates alluded to, it's simply just a banner.

Each team has its own identity. Its own story. Its own group. There's a lot that goes into a basketball team behind the scenes, whether it be morning workouts or things outside of the arena that help the team grow together.

"It's going to be essential every day that we have an opportunity to fill this building up and support that is going to help us grow as a team no different than we've done in the past," Gates said. "That's what I appreciate most about our fans. They showed up last year. They absolutely showed up and I'm excited to see them show up again.

The Tigers have much to prove after a severely underwhelming season, but they now have a clean slate. They want turn away from the continuous failure of last year and get back to being a real threat again. They'll need the support, but Gates has confidence that the Missouri fanbase will continue to provide that.

There's some pressure for the Tigers to improve and make it worthwhile for fans to continue to support them, but then again, they can't fall any deeper than they did a season ago. It's impossible to predict just how much they can claw back up, but they have the tools to start the the journey.

Missouri is eager and determined to flip the page, and its next story starts now.

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