Entering the SEC Tournament, the Mizzou Tigers have lost 4 of their last 5 games and will face the Mississippi State Bulldogs in their first-round matchup.
Coming out of the gate, the Tigers were led by Tony Perkins, who made his first 4 shots of the night and scored 8 of the first 19 Tiger points.
All night long, both Perkins and Tamar Bates played exceptionally well, serving as the true heart and soul of the Tigers' effort throughout.
Perkins finished the first half with 8 points, while Bates added 12, helping the Tigers head into the locker room with a 5-point lead.
The second half was much of the same, with Perkins and Bates continuing to lead the offensive charge.
Perkins added 12 more points on a perfect 8-of-8 from the free throw line, while Bates poured in 13, serving as the top option throughout the game.
In a game that went back and forth during the second half, Bates and Perkins led the charge for the Tigers, combining for 45 of the team’s 85 points in the thrilling win.
In the last 5 games of the regular season, Tamar Bates hadn’t been playing "like himself," averaging just 10.2 points over that stretch. However, Bates poured in 25 points as the Tigers defeated the Bulldogs for the second time this season.
Looking at Bates’s signature performances during the regular season against Kansas and Ole Miss, this game rivaled those as it marked his third-highest point total of the season.
In the win, the Tigers lost Mark Mitchell in the first half due to injury, and there is no update on his status for the game against Florida.
Regardless, Tamar Bates will likely need to deliver another one of those signature performances if the Tigers want to take down the No. 2 seed Florida Gators for the second time this year.
In the win over the Gators in January, Grill was the x-factor, scoring 22 points, while Bates didn’t have his best game, totaling just 10 points in the victory.
The Tigers will take on the Gators at 6 p.m. on SEC Network.