Men’s Basketball Hosts Texas A&M Wednesday Night

The Missouri men’s basketball team returns to Mizzou Arena for the first of two home games this week, hosting Texas A&M on Wednesday night. First tip is set for 8 p.m. on ESPN2.

PROMOTIONS
• The first 1,000 students receive a free Hawaiian shirt in addition to a free Hawaiian Bros dinner.
• Ruby Leigh, who finished runner-up on The Voice last year, is set to perform at halftime.

ABOUT THE TIGERS
• Missouri is 8-14 during the 2023-24 season with a 0-9 record in SEC action.
• The Tigers dropped their most recent game at Vanderbilt, 68-61, with Noah Carter scoring a game-high 20 points.
• Graduate guard Sean East II leads the Tigers with 15.6 points and 4.1 assists per game.
• Overall, four Tigers score in double figures with Tamar Bates (13.9), Noah Carter (12.0) and Nick Honor (10.3) following East’s lead.
• Carter also leads all active Mizzou players with 5.1 rebounds per game.
• The Tigers are scoring 73.5 points per game, while allowing 74.0.

ABOUT THE AGGIES
• Texas A&M enters Mizzou Arena with a 13-8 overall record and 4-4 mark in SEC play.
• The Aggies have won three of their last four, including a 67-66 win over Florida on Saturday.
• Wade Taylor IV leads Texas A&M with 19.8 points and 3.7 assists per game.
• Tyrece Radford (13.8) and Henry Coleman III (10.4) also score in double figures.
• Andersson Garcia leads Texas A&M with 8.5 rebounds per game.
• The Aggies average 73.5 points, while allowing 68.2 per game.

SERIES HISTORY
• In a series that dates back to 1969 and has been played annually since 1996-97, Texas A&M holds a slight all-time edge over the Tigers, 25-20.
• The Aggies have won the last three meetings versus the Tigers, including a 68-61 home win in January.
• During the team’s first meeting, MU held Texas A&M to just 28.8 percent shooting but the hosts were able to take advantage of a 37-10 edge in free-throw attempts in the seven-point win.

1-2 PUNCH
• Guards Tamar Bates and Sean East II are a strong 1-2 punch for the Tigers this season.
• The duo has combined to score 33.6 points per game in SEC play – the second-highest total by a pair of Tigers since joining the conference and the highest since 2013-14.

BATES LEADS TIGERS IN SEC PLAY
• Junior Tamar Bates has been especially strong since conference play started.
• Bates leads MU with 19.8 points in nine SEC games – the second-highest average by a Tiger in league play since joining the conference in 2012.
• Overall, Bates ranks fifth in SEC games only in scoring (19.8), fourth in field goal percentage (55.7) and first in free-throw percentage (97.1).

TOP PASSER AND SCORER
• Graduate guard Sean East II can beat you in a number of ways.
• East currently leads the Tigers with 15.6 points and 4.1 assists per game.
• The point guard is aiming to be just the sixth player in MU history to average 15.0 points and 4.0 assists in a single season.
• East is one of just two players in the SEC to rank in the top 10 in both points and assists, placing ninth in points and sixth in assists.

STRONG DEFENSIVE SHOWING
• The first time the two schools met this year, MU put together one of its top defensive games since joining the SEC.
• For just the sixth time in SEC regular-season play, the Tigers held a team to under 30 percent shooting as the 28.8 percent clip is the fifth-best mark in its SEC history.
• The 63 points allowed by Mizzou are its fewest in an SEC game this season and tied for the fewest in 27 conference games under Coach Gates.

MABOR MAGIC
• Senior Mabor Majak has seen an increase in minutes as of late, contributing on the boards.
• Majak has matched his career high with four rebounds in each of the last two contests. His eight rebounds are six more than the two he collected in his first 12 games of the season.