The Missouri Tigers did the unthinkable at Mizzou Arena, defeating its border rival and top-ranked team in the country, the Kansas Jayhawks. The Tigers left surrounded by the fans on the court with a 76-67 win.

There was plenty to be said after Missouri’s win, starting with the head coach of the Tigers, Dennis Gates. Gates’ squad showed resiliency in the second half when Bill Self’s Kansas Jayhawk squad stormed back into the game. Gates wasn’t surprised by the response and second-half play from his squad, as he’s seen it in practices dating back to the summer.

“I think at the end of the day, what we did was respond in a way that represents our character, what we’ve done since we got together in June, and what we’ve worked on,” Gates said. 

Kansas threw plenty of wrenches into the plan of a blowout in the second half, forcing Missouri to respond to them. The chemistry of Gates’ team and its ability to play together was on full display after Kansas’ second-half run, keeping its chances at an upset alive.

“They stayed connected. They stayed true to the scouting report and they challenged each other,” Gates said.  “Those that were challenged responded in the right way and accepted the challenge that they were given from their teammates.”

Missouri center Josh Gray played a massive part in the Tigers’ victory. He scored seven points and shot perfectly from the field, but his defensive intensity and intention to grab rebounds were the most important. He grabbed 10 boards and made life hard for star Kansas center Hunter Dickinson. Most of all, Gray’s true personality shined after the game with fans on the court, exiting it with his infamous horse mask on.

“It was a great moment with the fans,” Gray said. “They got to see me all happy and joyful.”

Another key contributor was guard Tamar Bates. The senior led the game in scoring with 29 points, going nine-for-15 from the field and perfect from the free-throw line on nine attempts. He was by far the most impactful in the game for the Tigers, and winning would have been a challenge without his shot-making and leadership.

“It’s not about anything else. He didn’t want to be the leading scorer,” Gates said. “He just wanted to win and that’s how he practiced. He practiced that way.”

Self had nothing but good things to say about Missouri’s performance. Outside of the hot stretch of scoring in the middle of the second half, the Jayhawks didn’t do much well. On both sides of the ball, Missouri’s athleticism and length gave them advantages in multiple categories, ones that Self could not figure out how to overcome.

“They were much better than us and much more athletic and certainly played with purpose,” Self said. 

Missouri’s ability to force turnovers against Kansas was arguably the most impressive part of the game. The Tigers forced 22 turnovers and grabbed 14 steals, Those turnovers were partially due to bad passes and lackadaisical decisions, but the defensive pressure of Bates and guard Ant Robinson II made life miserable for Kansas’ frontcourt.

“I would err on the side of giving them more credit, because if I say we just sucked, that would take credit from them,” Self said. “We did suck, but it was a large part due to them.”

This is without a doubt a momentum-building win for the Tigers. It could help in recruiting, but the Tigers have searched for a big-time win like this since the Dennis Gates era started. They got the win they were looking for and now have momentum this season.

“I just want to use this moment to build what we need to continue to build here in these infant stages of a program,” Gates said. 

It might not help recruiting on a national level, but having local athletes like Bates and forwards Mark Mitchell and Aiden Shaw come out of the Kansas City area and perform like they did on a national level might help local recruiting. Bates had a message to those local recruits after the Tigers’ win.

“We’re just trying to show him that you don’t got to go far to play big-time basketball and win big-time games,” Bates said. “You can come play for this guy.”

Missouri now has all the momentum in the world after defeating the No. 1 team in the country and its biggest rival. Gaining that momentum was important but how they spread the momentum throughout the season will have even more of an impact.

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