Welcome to “The Daily Scoop”, an article to bring you up to date with the latest news from college basketball and a preview of the day ahead.

Daily Headlines

From 0-18 in SEC play to a consensus top 15 team, Dennis Gates has led a miraculous turnaround at Missouri

2023-24 was an unbelievable year in the worst way possible for Missouri, as the Tigers finished 8-24, going 0-18 in SEC play. With a perfect mix of returning talent and impact transfers, Dennis Gates has engineered one of the biggest turnarounds in college basketball in 2024-25. With two and a half weeks of regular season basketball still to be played, Missouri sits at 20-6 (9-4 SEC), ranking inside the top 15 no matter where you look.

On Wednesday night, Missouri got its fifth chance at beating an AP Top 5 team this season and picked up its third victory. Having already taken down then-#1 Kansas at home and then-#5 Florida on the road, the Tigers’ home win over #4 Alabama cemented them has one of the best teams in the country. Missouri led from tip to finish in the win, putting up 59 first half points and leading by as many as 20 in the 110-98 win.

Just before the final buzzer, Gates got on the microphone in the arena to encourage the fans not to storm the court, with Missouri already having covered one fine after taking down Kansas in December. The fans obliged, but I’m guessing the celebration continued on into the streets of Columbia, Missouri.

Mark Mitchell (13.6 ppg, 4.7 rpg) led the way in the win, scoring a career-high 31 points on an efficient 11-of-15 performance from the field. Caleb Grill (13.4 ppg) also hyped light up the Crimson Tide, scoring 25 points with three three-pointers and a 10-of-11 performance from the free throw line. A year ago, Mitchell was at Duke, having a somewhat productive year, but not quite the sophomore breakout that Blue Devils fans had hoped for. In a case where the transfer portal truly helped everyone involved, Mitchell has found a new home at Missouri and is thriving in his new surroundings.

Last season for Grill was off to a hot start, but the senior guard was shut down due to injury nine games in, but in hindsight I’m sure Grill is satisfied with how things have turned out, as he’s now a featured player off the bench for one of the country’s best teams.

Having suffered through the 0-18 season on the court, Tamar Bates (13.4 ppg) and Anthony Robinson II (9.5 ppg, 3.3 apg) have made great strides in improving the Tigers’ backcourt in 2024-25. Bates’ statistical numbers look nearly identical to those of last year, but his impact on winning has risen tremendously with guys surrounding him that can help him out. A true sophomore, Robinson has broken out as an important piece for Missouri this season. Robinson’s playmaking and high energy defensively makes him a perfect pairing for guys like Mitchell, Grill, and Bates who all have a knack for scoring. Missouri goes 11 deep most nights, but these four have been the keys to the 12-wins and counting one-year turnaround.

Favored in all five of its remaining games, Missouri sits in fourth place in the SEC, hunting its first-ever top four finish as a member of the SEC. With a top ten offensive efficiency according to KenPom and a scoring offense that ranks 14th at 83.7 ppg, the Tigers have enough veteran weapons to make a run in the NCAA Tournament this March after going 1-22 in their final 23 games last season.

Other Things to Note:

• Johni Broome’s 16 points and 13 rebounds leads #1 Auburn past Arkansas 67-60
• #10 St. John’s dominates DePaul on the road 82-58 behind 17 points from Kadary Richmond
• #17 Kentucky takes down Vanderbilt 82-61 to avenge January loss
• Tyson Degenhart scores 32 as Boise State hands New Mexico its second Mountain West loss
• #20 Maryland hosts USC while looking for fourth straight win (8:30 ET, FS1)