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COLUMBIA, Mo. – For the first time in four years, the Missouri men’s basketball team is returning to Kansas City and will square off against Seton Hall this December, announced by Russ Potts Productions, Inc., on Friday.
The Tigers will make their first appearance at T-Mobile Center in downtown Kansas City under second-year Whitten Family Men’s Basketball Head Coach Dennis Gates when Mizzou faces the BIG EAST foe on Sunday, Dec. 17. Game time and TV info will be announced at a later date, while tickets will go on sale later this month.
Missouri and Seton Hall have met one previous time on the basketball court with the Pirates claiming an 88-71 victory during the 1992 NCAA Tournament in Greensboro, North Carolina. MU last appeared at T-Mobile Center in 2019 for the Hall of Fame Classic, which also marked its last matchup with a BIG EAST school – squaring off with Butler during the tournament. The Tigers last played a standalone game in Kansas City when they met Oklahoma State in 2014.
“Kansas City is a special place for Mizzou fans and we’re looking forward to making our return there,” Gates said. “Shaheen has a great track record as a head coach and I have no doubt that Seton Hall is a NCAA Tournament team. Playing in a game like this will not only help prepare us for a tough SEC schedule but also for national postseason play.”
“We’re excited to add a quality game like this to our schedule,” said Seton Hall head coach Shaheen Holloway. “Playing Mizzou in Kansas City will be a great environment. I consider Coach Gates to be one of the top coaches in college basketball today and he’s building a great program at Mizzou. This will be a big-time test for our team before we start BIG EAST play. We’re looking forward to the challenge.”
During Gates’ first year leading Mizzou, the Tigers finished with 25 victories – their most in 11 seasons. MU also claimed its first NCAA Tournament victory in 13 years and advanced to the SEC Tournament Semifinals for the first time in school history. The Tigers return two starters from last year’s team, while adding a top-five transfer class and a top-30 freshman class to their roster.
Seton Hall posted 17 victories and 10 BIG EAST wins during the 2022-23 campaign in Holloway’s first year leading the school – the most overall and conference wins by a first-year Pirates head coach in program history. Overall, Seton Hall has advanced to the national postseason in six of the last seven years, including the NCAA Tournament five times, and returns three of its top four scorers from last season.
ABOUT RUSS POTTS PRODUCTIONS, INC.
This game is organized by Russ Potts Productions, Inc. (www.rppi.net). RPPI, led by their President, Zach Franz, has organized nearly 850 sporting events over the past 4 decades. This marks the second time that RPPI has brought Mizzou to T-Mobile Center. The last time featured an overtime thriller between Missouri and Georgetown in 2010 in front of a near-capacity crowd of over 14,000 fans.
ABOUT THE KANSAS CITY SPORTS COMMISSION AND FOUNDATION
The mission of the Kansas City Sports Commission & Foundation is to drive Kansas City’s overall sports strategy, to enrich the quality of life, create economic impact and raise visibility for our region. As a privately-funded nonprofit, we are entirely dependent on your support. For the latest on Kansas City Sports Commission news, follow on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and YouTube. Also follow the Garmin Kansas City Marathon on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.
