Men’s Basketball Meets Seton Hall in Kansas City

The Missouri basketball team returns to Kansas City for the first time in four years, meeting Seton Hall on Sunday afternoon. Tipoff at T-Mobile Center is set for 4 p.m. on ESPN.
 
ABOUT THE TIGERS
• Missouri owns a 7-3 record during the 2023-24 campaign.
• The Tigers saw their four-game winning streak snapped on Saturday, falling at No. 2 Kansas, 73-64, in the Hy-Vee Hoops Border Showdown.
• Graduate guard Sean East II has tallied at least 20 points in each of the last three games, scoring 21 on Saturday versus KU.
• Overall, East leads the Tigers with 17.2 points and 3.7 assists per game.
• Classmates Nick Honor (12.3) and Noah Carter (12.0) also score in double figures.
• Carter also leads MU with 6.3 boards per game.
• Missouri averages 74.3 points offensively, while allowing 67.8 points on the defensive end.
 
ABOUT THE PIRATES
• Seton Hall enters the weekend with a 6-4 mark.
• The Pirates snapped a two-game losing streak on Tuesday, defeating Monmouth, 70-61.
• Four Pirates are scoring in double figures, led by Kadary Richmond with 14.8 points per game.
• Richmond also leads SHU with 4.4 assists, while Jaden Bediako has a team-best 7.9 rebounds.
• Seton Hall owns a scoring offense of 73.9 points with a scoring defense of 67.7 points.
 
SERIES HISTORY
• The schools are meeting for just the second time with the previous matchup occurring in the 1992 NCAA Tournament.
• Anthony Peeler scored 28 points but it wasn’t enough as the Pirates earned an 88-71 win in Greensboro, N.C., to advance to the Sweet 16.
 
TIGERS VERSUS BIG EAST
• Mizzou owns an 8-17 all-time record against the Big East Conference with a 7-11 mark in neutral-site games versus the league.
• The Tigers have dropped their last two decisions to conference foes, falling to Xavier and Butler during the 2019-20 campaign.
• Missouri last defeated a Big East school in 2018 when Jeremiah Tilmon tallied 23 points and 10 boards in a 71-56 victory over Xavier.
 
MIZZOU RETURNS TO KC
• The Tigers are making their return to Kansas City.
• Missouri is playing at T-Mobile for the first time in four years, last in action in Kansas City during the Hall of Fame Classic in 2019.
• Overall, the Tigers own an 8-10 record at T-Mobile Center since it first opened in 2007, which includes the 2012 Big 12 Tournament crown.
• However, Mizzou has lost its last five games in Kansas City and is searching for its first win since a 92-80 victory over Hawaii in 2013.
 
BACK HOME
• Not only is MU returning to KC but it is also a homecoming for Tamar Bates and Aidan Shaw.
• Both players earned the DiRenna Award, which is given to the top player in the Kansas City metro area. Bates earned the recognition in 2019, while Shaw was the 2022 honoree.
• Bates also led Piper High School to its first Kansas state championship in 2019.
 
20-POINT THREAT IN SEAN EAST II
• Sean East II has saved his best for last in 2023-24.
• The graduate guard leads the Tigers with 17.2 points per game this season – more than double his career average entering the year.
• East has also tallied at least 20 points in 6-of-10 games this season after doing so just twice in 90 games prior to the season.
• In fact, it marks the first time that a Tiger has eclipsed 20 points in six of the season’s first 10 games since Jordan Clarkson in 2013-14.
• Overall, East is sixth in the SEC and 118th in the country with his 17.2 points per game.
 
MULTI-TALENTED
• Sean East II is more than just a scorer.
• Over the last five games, East is averaging 20.4 points and 5.4 assists to lead Mizzou.
• In fact, East has eclipsed 20 points and six assists in the last two games against Wichita State and Kansas – the first Tiger to do so since Melvin Booker in March 1994.
• In the win over the Shockers, East was the first Tiger to pair at least 20 points and nine helpers in a game since Phil Pressey in February 2013.
• Overall, East leads MU with 3.7 assists per game.
 
BIG IMPACT
• Connor Vanover has started to make a bigger impact on the team’s success as of late.
• Over the last three games, Vanover is tallying 8.7 points, 3.7 rebounds and 1.7 blocks in 19.7 minutes per game.
• During his first four appearances of the year, the graduate center tallied just seven total points and averaged 1.7 points in 8.5 minutes.
• Overall, Vanover is now averaging 4.7 points, 3.0 rebounds and 1.0 blocks per game.
 
TARGETING 70 POINTS
• The magic number for Mizzou is 70 points.
• Under Coach Gates, MU is 29-1 when scoring at least 70 points (27-0 with at least 75 points).
• On the opposite end, Mizzou is just 3-12 under Gates with 69 or fewer points.