Missouri center Josh Gray (33) celebrates victory over Mississippi State following their game in the second round of the SEC Tournament Thursday in Nashville, Tenn. (Photo courtesy of Associated Press)
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) – Tamar Bates scored 25 points and No. 21 Missouri beat Mississippi State 85-73 on Thursday night to reach the quarterfinals of the Southeastern Conference Tournament.
Tony Perkins added a season-high 20 for the seventh-seeded Tigers (22-10), who will face No. 4 Florida on Friday night in the first tournament game for the Gators. Tip-off at Bridgestone Arena is scheduled for 6, and the game will be televised by the SEC Network.
Josh Hubbard paced Mississippi State (21-12), which was the No. 10 seed in the SEC, with 24 points and Keshawn Murphy added 18.
Caleb Grill hit a 3-pointer as time expired in the first half, putting the Tigers up 39-34.
Thursday’s game was much closer than the only regular-season matchup against the Tigers, an 88-61 victory for Missouri in Starkville.
Takeaways
Mississippi State: The loss will strengthen the Bulldogs’ already strong probability of receiving an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament.
Missouri: Playing their first game of the SEC Tournament, the Tigers had to battle most of the second half against Mississippi State, which kept the game close until the final minutes. Friday’s matchup against the highly-ranked Gators should be a tougher test.
Key moment
Grill broke the 17th and final tie of the game with a dunk with 4:05 remaining in the second half to put the Tigers up 71-69. The dunk and the 3-pointer at the end of the first half were the only points Grill scored.
Key stat
Missouri finished the second half hitting six of its final seven field goals, while the Bulldogs hit just one of their final nine attempts from the field.
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