Men’s Basketball Opens SEC Play with No. 2 Auburn

University of Missouri men’s basketball begins Southeastern Conference play this weekend, opening league play at No. 2 Auburn. Tipoff is set for 3 p.m. on Saturday afternoon on SEC Network.

ABOUT MISSOURI

• Mizzou finished its non-conference campaign with an 11-2 record.

• MU is coming off an 82-65 win over Alabama State on Monday in its non-conference finale.

• Four Tigers are scoring in double figures this season, led by Mark Mitchell with a team-best 13.8 points, 5.0 rebounds and 1.1 blocks.

• Following Mitchell’s lead as double-digit scorers are Tamar Bates (12.9), Caleb Grill (12.6) and Anthony Robinson II (10.7).

• Robinson also leads Mizzou with 3.8 assists and 2.5 steals per game.

• Mizzou ranks 10th nationally with a scoring offense of 87.3 points and 15th with a scoring margin of +19.7.

ABOUT AUBURN

• Auburn is currently ranked No. 2 in both the AP and USA Today Coaches polls.

• The Tigers finished their non-conference season with a 12-1 record, winning their last five.

• Auburn is led by Johni Broome, who has a team-best 18.2 points, 11.5 rebounds and 3.4 assists per game.

• The Tigers are averaging 88.3 points, while allowing just 64.8 for a scoring margin of +23.5.

SERIES HISTORY

• Auburn holds a 10-6 advantage over MU in 16 all-time meetings. AU has won the last four games in the series and seven of the last eight.

• Auburn has also taken 5-of-6 contests at home with Missouri’s lone victory coming in its first meeting at Auburn in 2014.

• Mizzou’s last win in the series came in 2020, defeating No. 11 Auburn, 85-73, in Columbia.

MIZZOU VERSUS TOP TWO

• Missouri was handed a challenge in its SEC opener with the nation’s second-ranked team.

• Overall, the Tigers are 6-34 all-time against teams ranked in the top two of the AP poll.

• The good news for Mizzou is that it doesn’t have to go too far back for a win over a top-two foe as the Tigers defeated top-ranked Kansas on Dec. 8.

• Mizzou does have the added challenge of trying to win the game on the road as the Tigers are 1-15 all-time at top-two opponents.

• The Tigers’ only road win over a top-two team was when No. 2 Missouri defeated No. 1 Kansas, 77-71, in 1990. MU has lost its last nine on the road at No. 1 or No. 2 teams.

MIZZOU IN SEC OPENERS

• The Tigers are set to begin their 13th season of play in the SEC on Saturday.

• Missouri is 4-8 in its conference opener since joining the league, including a 1-3 record when opening on the road.

• The Tigers only time starting SEC play with a road win was in 2018 at South Carolina, 79-68.

TWO TOP-10 OFFENSES COLLIDE

• Saturday’s game has a chance to be a high-scoring affair as it features two of the nation’s top-10 offenses.

• Auburn enters the game ranked fifth nationally at 88.3 points per game, while Missouri is 10th at 87.3 points.

GETTING TO THE LINE

• One notable difference for MU early in the season is its ability to get to the free-throw line.

• MU ranks first nationally with 21.2 makes per game from the free-throw line and second with 29.2 attempts.

• The Tigers have increased their attempts by 11.0 per game from a season ago when they ranked last in the SEC with 18.2 per game.

• MU is also second nationally with a free-throw rate (FTA/FGA) of 51.4 percent and 18th by getting 24.2 percent of its points from the charity stripe.

CONSISTENT OFFENSE

• The key to a good offense is consistency and the Tigers are certainly doing that so far in 2024-25.

• Missouri has scored at least 75 points in all 13 games this season – its longest run since a 14-game stretch in 2011-12.

• The Tigers are one of just four schools to score at least 75 in every game this season, joining Florida, Iowa State and South Dakota.

WELCOME BACK, CALEB GRILL

• The Tigers received a welcome addition in their last game with the return of Caleb Grill, who missed five games with a neck injury.

• The team’s top 3-point threat, Grill is third on the team with 12.6 points, first with 2.9 triples made per game and first with a 3-point clip of 51.1.

• Grill allows the Tigers to stretch the court as a team with Mizzou averaging 26.0 attempts from 3-point range in the eight games he played versus 17.6 in the five he missed.

• Saturday is set to be Grill’s first career SEC game as he missed all of last year’s SEC season with a wrist injury.