Latest news with #DennisGates
Yahoo
02-06-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Mizzou Hoops Reportedly Adds Bethune-Cookman to 2025-26 Schedule
Mizzou Hoops Reportedly Adds Bethune-Cookman to 2025-26 Schedule originally appeared on Athlon Sports. The Missouri Tigers men's basketball program is expected to add a new opponent to Mizzou Arena this winter. Advertisement According to a report in the Columbia Daily Tribune, Mizzou is expected to host Bethune-Cookman on December 14. The HBCU team out of Daytona, Florida, will be paid a reported $110,000 to compete in Columbia. Last season, the Wildcats went 17-16 before losing in the second round of the Southwestern Athletic Conference Tournament. Missouri Tigers Head Coach Dennis Gates reacts in the second half against the Kentucky Wildcats© Gary Rohman-Imagn Images Bethune-Cookman is led by head coach Reggie Theus, a former NBA All-Star. Theus was drafted ninth overall in 1978 by the Chicago Bulls after an impressive collegiate career at UNLV. He was named an All-Star in the 1981 and 1983 seasons. Mizzou has also added Virginia Military Institute to its 2025-'26 schedule, with the game set for Sunday, Nov. 9 at home, falling on the same weekend the Tigers' football team is set to face conference foe Texas A&M. Though the VMI matchup is early into the season, it's unlikely to be the home opener. Advertisement In every season under head coach Dennis Gates, Mizzou has competed in three games within eight days of the first game. The Tigers announced May 21 that they will open their season on the road against Howard in Washington, D.C., on Monday, Nov. 3. Assuming they follow this timeline, there will likely be another matchup at Mizzou Arena scheduled in between the Howard and VMI tilts. The Tigers competed in 13 nonconference games in November and December of last season, which leaves room for six more opponents to be added this year. Related: Former Mizzou Guard Jumps Up NBA Draft Big Board This story was originally reported by Athlon Sports on May 30, 2025, where it first appeared.
Yahoo
20-03-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Missouri coach Dennis Gates talks March Madness, leading team from underdogs to NCAA Tournament
After one of the toughest seasons in Missouri basketball history, going winless in their conference, head coach Dennis Gates is guiding the Tigers from disappointment to the excitement of March Madness. Gates spoke to "Good Morning America" about how he has remained confident in his vision and his team's potential for a remarkable turnaround with 22 wins overall and a six seed going into the NCAA Tournament. "We weren't trying. It was a mandate that this is what we're going to do," Gates said of the message he shared with his team at the start of the season. Last year the team was plagued by injuries and a lack of momentum, but Gates was resolute in his approach. "You look at my track record, who I am every day, and the substance we built. The results were one thing, but the substance was another. We played like winners every possession," he explained. Gates didn't make drastic changes. He brought in fresh talent from high school and other college programs but also kept three of last year's starters in place to ensure continuity and chemistry on the court. A look at injuries that could shape the NCAA Tournament and the brackets of millions of Americans The head coach emphasized player development, telling "GMA" that helped returning players improve throughout the new season. "We made sure that guys that were returning got better. We pushed them in a way that ultimately led them to success," Gates said. Central to his coaching philosophy is the commitment to eight core values: friendship, love, accountability, trust, discipline, unselfishness, enthusiasm and toughness. "These values allowed me to get out of my environment, make way for others, and lead people," he noted. Gates also said he finds inspiration beyond basketball, often turning to poetry for motivation. He quoted Rudyard Kipling, saying, "You can start again at the beginning and never breathe a word about your loss." For Gates, those words underscore an important lesson: True growth comes not from victory, but from overcoming failure. March Madness: Bracketology a settled national pastime as the 2025 NCAA Tournament arrives "The real avenue to manhood or growth is through failure," he said, explaining that resilience is a large part of his coaching philosophy. With Gates at the helm, the Tigers are not just making a comeback, they're competing in March Madness and ready to prove that hard work, belief, and those core values can turn any underdog into a contender. Missouri coach Dennis Gates talks March Madness, leading team from underdogs to NCAA Tournament originally appeared on
Yahoo
20-02-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Missouri coach Dennis Gates takes PA microphone to head off court-storming celebration
COLUMBIA, Mo. — After Missouri basketball fans stormed the court following a victory over then-No. 1 Kansas on Dec. 8, Tigers coach Dennis Gates made sure there wouldn't be an encore after No. 15 Missouri beat No. 4 Alabama. Gates called a timeout with 1.5 seconds remaining, and grabbed the public address microphone to emphatically tell the capacity crowd of 15,061 to stay off the court. 'Please, do not rush the court! Please, do not rush the court!' Gates said to the fans. That was in sharp contrast to the Kansas game where Gates called a late timeout to give the Jayhawks' bench personnel a chance to safely leave the court, and was openly critical of Missouri for making an announcement for fans not to rush the court. Missouri was fined $250,000 after the Kansas game, and faces a $500,000 fine for a second offense. In Southeastern Conference play, the fine is paid to the opposing school. 'We need that money to go to NIL,' Gates said. 'We don't need to be getting fines out there. But, to safety, I hope that becomes a normal thing when you are excited, which I credit our crowd for being. I just didn't want us to rush the court and get a fine.'
New York Times
20-02-2025
- Sport
- New York Times
Missouri upsets Alabama with balanced offensive attack: What this statement win says about Tigers' tournament chances
As the clock sprinted towards zero in a feverish Mizzou Arena, with the Tigers about to topple one of the most highly regarded teams in the country, Missouri head coach Dennis Gates calmly grabbed the in-arena microphone and made of his student section one massive request: 'Please do not rush the court.' Advertisement It's a tall order for a fanbase that survived the entire 2023-24 campaign without a single conference win. But given the stunning turnaround Gates has overseen this year, the students could do nothing but obey the coach's cool request. In the highest-scoring game of this historic SEC season, Alabama fell 110-98 on Wednesday to a ferocious Missouri team that has March machinations of its own. Gates and Alabama coach Nate Oats shook hands as the buzzer sounded, closing the book on a seismic result, both in the SEC and on a national scale. "Please do not rush the court" Missouri head coach Dennis Gates had to tell the fans to not storm the court after beating No. 4 Alabama 😅 — ESPN (@espn) February 20, 2025 Life in the conference this season has been brutal. With nine SEC teams looking like locks for the NCAA Tournament, plus another five in the thick of the bubble battle, the schedule is relentless. And Alabama is feeling the weight of such a loaded league right now. Wednesday's loss to Missouri comes days after the NCAA Tournament selection committee unveiled the Tide as the No. 2 overall seed on Saturday, just behind archrival Auburn. Only a few hours later, Alabama lost at home, 94-85, to that same Auburn team in an instant classic barnburner full of high-level shot-making and back-and-forth runs. Just like on Saturday, Alabama's offense came to play. The Tide shot 54 percent from the field and made 13 triples Wednesday night, refusing to go away even as an early Missouri explosion threatened to blow the roof off Mizzou Arena. Even Mark Sears' season-high 35 points were not enough to offset the host Tigers' offensive juggernaut. Missouri jumped out to a 12-0 lead right from the opening tip-off and impressively maintained a stranglehold on that edge for the entire 40 minutes. Alabama hung around the entire second half, largely thanks to timely shot-making and Sears' bowling ball-esque downhill lefty drives. But the Tide never cut the lead to less than six, unable to get the necessary stops to fully climb the mountain. Advertisement Oats' team probably still has the inside track to a No. 1 seed come Selection Sunday, but the path is as daunting as it gets. The Tide now return home to Tuscaloosa for the 'easy' portion of their remaining gauntlet: hosting Kentucky and Mississippi State. After that, it's a round-robin of top-five KenPom squads, with a home game against Florida sandwiched between trips to Tennessee and the return matchup at Auburn. Unless Alabama can figure out the defensive end, more losses could be coming. Auburn posted 1.21 points per possession, and Missouri upped the ante with 1.39 PPP on Wednesday night. Even Alabama's efficient attack cannot consistently match such gaudy numbers. For a team that has already beaten Kansas at home and won at Florida — another likely No. 1 seed — Missouri still felt like a team in need of a coming out party. Despite getting buried on SEC Network while being the top-ranked matchup of the night, perhaps this was finally the Tigers' emphatic announcement to the country. Putting up triple digits on Alabama will have that effect. Mark Mitchell's career-high 31 points stood out most, but the Tigers got contributions from all over: tough buckets from Anthony Robinson, deep triples from Caleb Grill, hustle putbacks from Trent Pierce, big blocked shots from Josh Gray. The beauty of this Missouri team is in its balance, as so many weapons are capable of erupting on any given night. The Tigers have been terrific for a while. Filtering Bart Torvik's rankings to start on Jan. 1, Missouri ranked as a top-five team even before Wednesday night's wire-to-wire dismantling of a national title contender. A slight misstep at Texas may have thrown some off the scent, but every indication is that this Missouri team — loaded with experience, physicality, athleticism and shooting — is a legitimate threat in the Big Dance.
Yahoo
20-02-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Missouri coach Dennis Gates takes PA microphone to head off court-storming celebration
COLUMBIA, Mo. (AP) — After Missouri basketball fans stormed the court following a victory over then-No. 1 Kansas on Dec. 8, Tigers coach Dennis Gates made sure there wouldn't be an encore after No. 15 Missouri beat No. 4 Alabama 110-98 on Wednesday night. Gates called a timeout with 1.5 seconds remaining, and grabbed the public address microphone to emphatically tell the capacity crowd of 15,061 to stay off the court. 'Please, do not rush the court! Please, do not rush the court!' Gates said to the fans. That was in sharp contrast to the Kansas game where Gates called a late timeout to give the Jayhawks' bench personnel a chance to safely leave the court, and was openly critical of Missouri for making an announcement for fans not to rush the court. Missouri was fined $250,000 after the Kansas game, and faces a $500,000 fine for a second offense. In Southeastern Conference play, the fine is paid to the opposing school. ___ Get poll alerts and updates on the AP Top 25 throughout the season. Sign up here. AP college basketball: and The Associated Press
