money 3 takeaways as Mizzou basketball wins its first game of the Dennis Gates era
The lights wouldn’t come back on at Mizzou Arena. After being dimmed for pregame player introductions, Monday’s Missouri men’s basketball game was delayed after the house illumination suffered from technical difficulties.
After a short delay, the game got underway. With it came the start of a new era of Missouri basketball, with Dennis Gates beginning his tenure as head coach.
“We have a special group,” Gates said. “It’s an exciting bunch to watch. It is a connected group.”
It got closer than it probably should have, but throughout the night, Missouri looked much improved. The Tigers won 97-91 and the Gates era got off to a hot start.
MU will be back in action on Friday against Penn at Mizzou Arena. Before that game, here are three things to know about the Tigers.
Kobe Brown is good at basketball
Before the season, Dennis Gates said he was interested to see which member of his team can take over a game. Monday night, an obvious candidate emerged.
Kobe Brown was one of only three returning Tigers from last season. After being named preseason all-SEC, he was back in the starting lineup for MU’s season opener, and was optimistic for the future after the win
"I just feel like the sky’s the limit for this team,” Brown said. “The more we play, the more we practice, the more we’re with each other, the better we’ll be.”
In the first half, Brown went off. He was in on seemingly every big moment for the Tigers and finished the half with 10 points and 10 rebounds.
Brown was most effective from close range, throwing down several rim-rattling dunks during the first twenty minutes. He did struggle with a familiar foe, missing both of his three-point attempts.
He finished the game with 20 points, 14 rebounds and five assists.
“Kobe’s not always going to be the leading scorer,” Gates said after the game. “If it was up to him, he wants to be the leader in assists. But he knows what he’s gifted at. He knows how talented he is and when it’s a time or situation for him to show his versatility, he’s done that.”
Gates brought the students back
All offseason since he was named Missouri’s head coach, Gates asked fans to return to Mizzou Arena. On Tuesday, the building wasn’t full, but it made for a marked improvement over the dead atmospheres of last season.
Missouri announced attendance of 10,723 fans for Monday’s game, well above the 2021-22 average of less than 7,000.
“I think that’s a special, special thing that we were able to see,” Gates said. “But also give our guys some momentum in these situations.”
The student section was packed and provided a major spark throughout the game, making noise when called upon.
The crowd especially popped for a second half dunk by Missouri’s Noah Carter, who drew a foul call while nearly tearing the rim off the basket with a two-hand slam.
According to Brown, the team feels the Missouri faithful’s excitement surrounding this season’s Tigers.
“It’s so different now,” Brown said. “All the events that we do on campus, where the last couple weeks we were shooting hoops outside the student center. There's just so much we engagement we have with students and even just fans of, you know, adult age. It’s really a buzz going on in Columbia and I love it.”
Just a bit too close
With less than five minutes left in the game, Missouri led by more than 20 points. Then, Southern Indiana got hot.
The Screaming Eagles went on an absolute tear from three-point range, hitting 14 of their 17 attempts in the final 20 minutes. Trevor Lakes alone hit six for USI.
Missouri guard Sean East said the run was in part due to complacency by the Tigers.
“Once we got that lead we kind of relaxed a little bit,” East said. “We need to focus on the details coming out that last four minutes next time.”
In the end, MU won by six points. Gates said the final minutes represented a learning opportunity for his squad
“I could have easily gone zone, but I did not want to,” Gates said. “I could have stopped certain things from happening. It is important that we continue to get better and learn about ourselves.”
The Tigers were able to pull out the win late, in part due to a solid job breaking up the USI press in the final minute, which led to a basket for D’Moi Hodge and free throws for Nick Honor.
“Every game is precious and every game is a teaching moment,” Gates said. “And as coach (Dickey) Nutt says, you can’t pour cold water on a win.”
This article originally appeared on Columbia Daily Tribune: Missouri basketball: Dennis Gates and Tigers beat Southern Indiana
