Watch: Mizzou Basketball Searching for Consistency During Winless Start to SEC Play
In this story:
At the core of most of the issues for the Missouri Tigers men's basketball team seems to be a lack of consistency. The team has often struggled to play a complete, 40 minute game, leading the Tigers to suffer close losses to Georgia, South Carolina, Florida and, most recently, Texas A&M. The Tigers are now 0-6 in conference play, making it their worst start to SEC play since the 2016-'17 season where they the first nine of the conference slate. The 2016 team finished with an overall record of 8-24 and just two conference wins.
Following a six-point loss to Texas A&M on Tuesday night, Missouri head coach Dennis Gates spoke about the team's recent struggles while also praising the preparation and fight of his team and coaching staff. Gates stated that he felt his team didn't execute enough on open looks and that he also views the losses so far on the season as lessons.
Gates' squad has also struggled to find a consistent scoring rotation. While Sean East II carried the reins for most of the non-conference schedule, Indiana transfer Tamar Bates has taken over as of late. The Junior guard has averaged 12.8 points per game this season but has averaged 23.6 in the last three, including 36 in a loss against Florida.
The Tigers will look for their first conference win on this Sunday when they travel to Columbia, South Carolina to take on the Gamecocks, who are coming off of an upset win over No. 6 Kentucky.
