Updated March 15, 2026, 7:39 p.m. CT
It’s Dennis Gates vs. Jai Lucas in St. Louis.
Can the Tigers’ head coach get his second NCAA Tournament win since arriving in Columbia, and his first since 2023?
Missouri basketball is a 10-seed and can tackle 7-seed Miami within the Round of 64 of the NCAA Tournament on Friday at Enterprise Center in St. Louis. The tipoff time for the Tigers’ March Madness opener in its house state shall be introduced by the NCAA both Sunday night time or Monday morning.
Mizzou (20-12) goes to the Big Dance for the third time beneath Gates, who has been in Columbia for 4 seasons. This marks the primary time that Mizzou has gone to the NCAA Tournament in back-to-back years since a streak of 5 straight appearances.
There shall be some acquainted face teaching from the opposing bench. Former Missouri assistant Charlton ‘C.Y.’ Young is now an assistant on Lucas’ first-year employees in Miami.
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Can MU e book a spot within the second spherical towards both 2-seed Purdue or 15-seed Queens?
Here are our predictions for Missouri towards Miami in Round 1:
Mizzou’s level guard play shall be closely examined
Missouri must get extra out of T.O. Barrett and Anthony Robinson II to achieve success shifting ahead in March, and so they’ll get an early check from certainly one of Robinson’s highschool teammates, Tre Donaldson.
The Hurricanes’ level guard and Michigan switch is certainly one of Evan Mityakawa’s No. 50-ranked most-valuable participant within the nation, in keeping with the analytics website’s Bayesian Performance Rating measurement. He’s been an offensive weapon with 16.7 factors and 5.8 assists per sport this season.
So, Missouri will want probably the most out of its guards.
Missouri’s dimension shall be vital for achievement
Mizzou’s rotation goes to be greater from primarily the 2 by means of the 5. The Hurricanes don’t have a 7-footer on the roster like MU does. In lineups with Shawn Phillips Jr., Trent Pierce and Mark Mitchell on the ground, Missouri ought to be capable of wield a size benefit.
Can Mizzou make that rely?
Miami makes an attempt and makes much less 3-pointers than any crew within the ACC. There shall be a battle happening contained in the arc. If Mizzou can put its dimension to make use of, that’s an excellent place to be.
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Mark Mitchell vs. Malik Reneau shall be enjoyable
Whenever these two get matched up, it’s going to be enjoyable to look at.
Malik Reneau is a 6-foot-9 Indiana switch who’s a team-high 18.8 factors and in addition 6.6 rebounds per sport. Mark Mitchell can be 6-9 and leads Mizzou in factors (18.3), rebounds (5.2) and assists (3.6).
This is one other pivotal battle. Mitchell actually wants assist from his teammates, which hasn’t been there for the previous few video games. But whoever has the larger night time between Mitchell and Reneau may have an excellent probability of touchdown a second-round matchup.
2026 March Madness first-round rating prediction for Missouri basketball
Score prediction: Miami 83, Missouri 79
Miami (25-8) was an excellent ACC outfit this yr, successful 13 video games in convention and solely shedding 3 times because the starting of February. That included two losses to top-10 Virginia and one to Louisville.
Mizzou slipped and slid its method into the postseason, and we want the Tigers to show that they will win once more this season. There have been too many inconsistencies from MU to select it in good religion. It’s additionally price remembering that there aren’t many coaches who know Gates and Missouri’s scheme like Young, now again in his hometown at Miami.
Missouri has virtually solely performed shut video games because the calendar turned to 2026. We anticipate one other one in St. Louis, and perhaps a house crowd helps it get throughout the road. We need to see it earlier than we consider it.
