Another week, another top-25 win for head coach Dennis Gates and the Missouri Tigers basketball team.
The win in their lone game this week, a 14th-ranked Mississippi State Bulldogs, marks their fifth ranked win of the season and their sixth within the highly competitive SEC.
This week, the official AP Top 25 poll had Mizzou at No. 15, its highest ranking since reaching No. 14 midway through the 2020-21 season.
Since being ranked No. 14 in late December 2020, they’ve been in the AP Top 25 just seven times over the past five seasons.
To now enjoy three straight weeks of ranked basketball, with the team continuing to move up a few spots each week, is impressive to say the least.
They have moved up seven spots since their initial ranking at No. 22 in late January.
Mizzou basketball hasn’t had this long of a stretch ranked while improving since the 2011-12 season, when the team reached as high as No. 2 and stayed around No. 3 for most of the year.
It highlights just how monumental this run of being ranked is and how special this season could be, especially with Selection Sunday just over a month away.
The AP Top 25 features several SEC teams, including Auburn (No. 1), Alabama (No. 3), Tennessee (No. 4), Florida (No. 6), Texas A&M (No. 10), Kentucky (No. 14), Mississippi State (No. 22), and Ole Miss (No. 25).
That's nine SEC teams, including the Tigers, the most of any conference in the NCAA this year. Additionally, three squads—Vanderbilt, Texas, and Oklahoma—received votes toward a potential ranking this week.
As far as the resume goes, Mizzou has a 5-3 record against teams currently ranked, including a 2-1 mark in the top 10. That's extremely impressive.
It's also nice to see the Tigers finally surpass their rivals, the Kansas Jayhawks, who are typically a powerhouse in the NCAA. The Jayhawks sit just below Mizzou at No. 16.
The 17-4 Tigers also moved up in the Coaches Poll, ranking No. 16 overall.
The best thing Mizzou can do is continue to look forward and stay focused, as the schedule remains challenging with their next contest in Knoxville against No. 4 Tennessee on Wednesday evening.
They follow that with a matchup against No. 10 Texas A&M this weekend, then face No. 3 Alabama and No. 14 Kentucky later on.