Mizzou's Return to March Madness Made Sweeter with 'Response' from Last Season

Though the Missouri Tigers have largely tried to erase their 0-18 season in the SEC a year ago, their return to form has been made all the more satisfying because of it.

Chase Gemes | Mar 20, 2025

Feb 19, 2025; Columbia, Missouri, USA; Missouri Tigers players huddle in the second half of a game against the Alabama Crimson Tide at Mizzou Arena. / Amber Winkler/MissouriOnSI

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Missouri Tigers

WICHITA, Kan. — The story of the Missouri Tigers' 2023-24 season has been told many a times.

A season riddled with season-ending injuries to Caleb Grill and John Tonje — all the while trying to replace Kobe Brown and D'Moi Hodge — helped result in Missouri losing 0-18 of its Southeastern Conference games. Everything that could've went wrong, did just that.

Not a single Tiger from last year's roster wanted that story to carry over, and they made that vocal from the beginning.

"I think they've been taught to shake things off at an early age," Gates said ahead of the season at the team's Media Day. "We have resilient guys. Guys that been through things. Guys that have transferred, But they weren't born with a silver spoon. Adversity has faced them in their life at some point."

However, even those that didn't go through the woes of that infamous season were well aware of it coming into the program. It was thought to remain a thing of the past, but simultaneously, it was hard to escape that from being fuel for a comeback.

"Last year was in the past, and (we) have a whole new team," guard Anthony Robinson II said to MissouriOnSI on Wednesday. "But the guys from last year, we wanted to bring that sense of urgency, the disrespect and things we felt last year and put on the new guys. I think that's just how our team molded together."

Missouri Tigers guard Anthony Robinson II (0) celebrates during the first half of a game against the Vanderbilt Commodores at Mizzou Arena in Columbia, Mo., on Saturday, Jan. 11, 2025. / Amber Winkler/MissouriOnSI

The previous struggles didn't stop the likes of forwards Mark Mitchell and Jacob Crews from buying into Gates' vision, solidifying a strong incoming freshman and transfer class. Missouri added the talent necessary to get back on track, it was just about putting the pieces together.

"I know that if I was in their position, it'd be a test of everybody's patience," Crews said. "Realizing that you trust in the coaching staff, trust in your teammates, trust that they're going to bring the right guys in ... it's just good to know they put their head down and got what you wanted in the long run."

The Tigers found an opportunity for a fresh start, reaching back to 100% capacity and focusing on building up a run in the NCAA Tournament. Gates stayed true to his word, coaching them back to a No. 6 seed matchup with the No. 11-seeded Drake Bulldogs in the first round.

Missouri is one of three high-major programs — along with Iowa State and Maryland — to bounce back from a winless season to a bid in the NCAA Tournament. That's an incredibly rare accomplishment throughout the history of college basketball, and one that needs a certain level of resilience.

It could've easily resulted in a string of underwhelming years for the Tigers, but they fought to make sure that wouldn't be the case. One bad year wasn't enough to derail everything.

"I speak to the poise and the mentality that coach Gates was able to have throughout a time like that last year, because ... nobody had ever really been through something remotely close to that," guard Tamar Bates said. "So just the poise and just how he handled that entire situation and carried that kind of just mentality of what we wanted to do ... is what kind of powered us to be able to respond from last year."

The goal for Missouri is to reach the Final Four in San Antonio at the end of the NCAA Tournament. A year ago that would've been considered an afterthought, and though it will still be a tough road to get there, it's already made history before.

The difference between the 2023-24 and 2024-25 Tigers teams will be astounding in the reference pages many years from now, but both shared that same sentiment before the seasons began. Things didn't go their way last time around, but this time?

Anything can happen in March.

"Last year didn't define who we were as a team ... this is kind of how I expected our last year team to be this year," guard Caleb Grill said. "We're just glad that we're able to have a piece of history in Mizzou basketball, and we're glad that we could do that and create excitement for the fans again."

If anything, the adversity only helped Missouri be more prepared to encounter whatever is thrown its way in the NCAA Tournament.

"Being on a Division I team my freshman year where I was also in the tournament, to no conference wins, to getting back to the tournament, is definitely seeing the highs and lows," forward Aidan Shaw said. "It's definitely helped me see what we need to do ... things like that come with experience."

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