Mizzou basketball coach Dennis Gates heads into SEC opener vs. Georgia with '0-0' mindset

A strong showing in its Southeastern Conference slate is what stands between Missouri men’s basketball and the NCAA Tournament.

What has come before isn’t fazing MU coach Dennis Gates too much.

“It's a rediscovery … because you can start with a 0-0 record,” Gates said Friday. “You don't eliminate your record from nonconference, but you can start a new season 0-0, and that is a part of your growth and more a part of your postseason opportunities than anything out there.”

Next, and first on the SEC slate: Georgia (1 p.m., SECN), which has shown some momentum through the back-half of its noncon slate.

The Bulldogs finished the 2022-23 season 16-16, and took a 22-point home loss at the hands of Gates’ Missouri team. Now, second-year UGA coach Mike White’s team, since starting the season 2-3 with losses to Oregon, Miami and Providence, has won eight straight games.

But before first tip at noon Saturday at Mizzou Arena, Missouri’s focus might be better focused inward.

Gates knows the Tigers’ record is worse than its one-loss, 11-win standing at this point in his debut campaign.

He knows Missouri isn’t scoring at the rate it was at this time last year, when it ranked No. 2 in the conference in points per game. MU currently ranks ninth among SEC teams.

But he also knows those weren’t the games that carried Mizzou into March. That, he said, was their conference record, which ranked fourth and carried a first-round bye in the SEC Tournament.

This year, he believes the conference glory is for anyone to grab.

“Last year we saw a top team in Alabama sustain their run. This season, anybody can win it. It can be any sort of the top four teams,” Gates said. … “I think in (the) postseason selection Sunday, there can be eight or nine (SEC) teams selected, and I think there will.”

If it’s going to be Missouri men’s basketball’s hands doing the snatching — or accepting the selection — there’s going to need to be stark and sudden improvements, starting with the Bulldogs.

Year 2 of the Gates era in Missouri started with a tougher nonconference slate — and the Tigers mostly fell short of replicating the fireworks of Year 1.

There were wins against power-conference teams Pittsburgh and Minnesota, yes, but there were several eye-opening slip ups.

Kansas, despite a strong start and finish for Mizzou in Lawrence, claimed a fourth straight Border War victory. Illinois did to Missouri this season what the Tigers did to the Illini last season. Seton Hall handed MU a lesson in Kansas City, and Memphis romped to a win in Mizzou Arena.

Even the quote-on-quote buy games didn’t come without error, as the Tigers lost to Jackson State in November.

“We let some games go, but we did win some good games,” Gates said. “No different than last year during this time, we let some games go, but I thought we didn't do that until conference play (last season). We were able to come into conference with one loss … and ultimately we got into the NCAA Tournament last season because of our conference play and the wins on the road and the wins at home. That is what matters most.”

So how do they get there?

Standout guard Tamar Bates said the team needs to continue to look for better shots from 3. The Gates system demands it, but Missouri has been foiled too many times by too many bad looks.

Gates, meanwhile, continued to wish that he had a whistle on the sideline. Since that isn’t likely to be a forthcoming rule change, he’s settled for looking at ways to get his team to the free-throw line more often.

Through nonconference play, Missouri has been outshot at the line, 267-213.

“Our guys (have) got to figure out ways to draw fouls in a healthy way without being distracted or taking themselves off balance,” Gates said, “and be a little bit stronger with the ball.”

It’s been a stumbling start for the Tigers.

If that’s going to change, the Georgia matchup looks increasingly like an important game to win.

That won’t be a gimme, but Missouri is hoping to start fresh.

“They've done a good job, and my hat's off to them,” Gates said. “Again, when you look at preseason records, everything and everyone starts 0-0 In this second season of conference play.”

This article originally appeared on Columbia Daily Tribune: Mizzou coach Dennis Gates heads into SEC opener vs. Georgia with '0-0' mindset