Tigers' Season: Highs, Lows & Portal Decisions

0:00On March 26th, Missouri Tigers basketball wrapped up their 2025-2026 season with a first-round exit in the NCAA tournament, a fitting end to a rollercoaster year full of highs and frustrating lows. The team showed flashes of brilliance but stumbled in key moments, leaving them with plenty to reflect on after failing to advance past Miami and St. Louis. Standout performers like Junior Trent Pierce and Senior Mark Mitchell carried much of the load. Pierce exploded after missing non-conference games due to injury, averaging 10.4 points and shooting nearly 40% from 3-in. Conference play. Mitchell dominated as the top scorer at 18.3 points per game while boosting his assists to 3.6, proving his all-around. Growth. Fans and analysts praised the Tigers for gritty wins against ranked foes like Vanderbilt and Tennessee late in the regular season. But those triumphs couldn't mask deeper issues. Coach Dennis Gates pointed to miss shots in crucial games against Arkansas and Kentucky as season changes,

1:04costing them better seating and momentum, heading into March madness. Benchstep proved unreliable, with injuries sideline and key transfers in backups like Jacob Cruz and Trent Burns struggling for consistency. 3-point shooting ranked decent in the SEC at 35%, but low volume and off-nice from shooters hurt spacing, a problem that could. Linger without Mitchell, Stone, and Cruz returning next year. Looking ahead, Gates faces tough portal decisions at center after Sean Phillips Jr. solid but flawed year plus sorting the point guard battle. Between Anthony Robinson II and T.O. Barrett, setting the stage for a roster rebuild to chase deeper runs.