Ten Things UM Fans Need to Know About Missouri ahead of NCAA Tournament opener
The 630-foot iconic Gateway Arch loomed over the Enterprise Center and the surrounding downtown streets on Thursday, a dramatic backdrop for the NCAA Tournament first round game late Friday night between seventh-seeded University of Miami and No. 10 seed Missouri.
The Hurricanes are one of eight teams at this venue and fans decked in all the team colors were on hand for the open practices at the 18,096-seat arena that is home to the NHL’s St. Louis Blues.
All the pep bands, cheerleaders and dance squads were there, too, prepping for their moment in the national spotlight.
So was Buddy, the 2-foot-tall statue of a German Shepherd, which Queens University coach Grant Leonard and his players refer to as their “spirit animal.” He embodies the team’s “street dog” mentality and has become the team’s good luck charm heading into their game against No. 2 seed Purdue. He was on the dais at the pre-tournament press conference and will be sitting atop a water cooler at the game Friday.
“This is actually Buddy 2 because Buddy 1 got injured in a celebration in Fort Myers after we beat Florida Gulf Coast,” Leonard explained.
As March Madness and all its charming stories get underway, here are 10 Things UM Basketball Fans Need to Know about the Missouri Tigers ahead of their clash on Friday (10:10 p.m., TruTV).
How the Tigers Got Here
Mizzou enters March Madness with a 20-12 record and was 10-8 in regular-season SEC competition. The Tigers are in a bit of a slump, having lost three games in a row, most recently 78-72 to Kentucky in the second round of the conference Tournament.
But the Tigers’ resume includes quality wins over tournament teams Florida (a No. 1 seed), Vanderbilt, Tennessee, and Texas A&M. The Tigers beat the defending national champion Gators 76-74 at home and beat Kentucky in Lexington four days later.
Why do they get home court advantage?
Even though Missouri is the lower seed in this matchup, the Tigers have a significant home court advantage playing 126 miles from campus while Miami fans would have to travel 1,100 miles.
The NCAA chooses tournament venues years in advance and St. Louis was designated as a first/second round host long before the Tigers got their invitation. The school is in Columbia, Missouri, not St. Louis, so Mizzou is not considered a host institution. The Tigers are permitted to play in a geographically desirable venue to make travel easier for their fans. In other words, get ready to see a lot of gold and black in the stands.
Who is their coach?
Tigers coach Dennis Gates led Cleveland State to the 2021 NCAA Tournament before taking the Missouri job in 2022. The 46-year-old was a longtime assistant coach, including nine years at Florida State from 2011-19 under Leonard Hamilton, who was one of his mentors.
Since his arrival at Mizzou, the team went to the NCAA Tournament in three of the past four seasons. The Tigers lost to No. 15 seed Princeton and No. 11 Drake.
His sideline attire doesn’t change: black jacket, black pants, white dress shirt, gold tie.
Ties with Miami
Speaking of ties, the Tigers and Hurricanes have a few significant connections. Hurricanes associate head coach Charlton “CY” Young worked with Gates for 12 years before joining Lucas at Miami. Young was on Gates’ staff at Mizzou from 2022 to 2025, and they worked together under Hamilton at FSU for nine years.
Miami guard Marcus Allen transferred from Missouri. He was diagnosed with non-Hodgkin lymphoma in December 2025 and missed the rest of the season but has been around the team as much as possible and serves as an inspiration.
UM guard Tre Donaldson and Mizzou’s Anthony Robinson II were teammates at Florida State University High School in Tallahassee and won a state championship together.
Also, Missouri’s top player, Mark Mitchell, transferred two years ago from Duke, where Lucas was an assistant at the time.
Everything goes through Mark Mitchell
To beat Missouri, you have to contain Mitchell. He leads the Tigers in scoring (18.3 ppg), rebounds (5.2) and assists (3.6) per game.
“He’s super aggressive; that’s their go-to guy,” said UM forward Malik Reneau, who will likely be tasked with covering Mitchell. “He’s hard left, and any glimpse of opportunity that he gets, he’s going to take. We’ve got to be prepared to be able to rotate over and help out when he beats defenders because he’s going to get past people.”
Lucas added: “They kind of play inside-out through Mark Mitchell. They put him in a lot of similar situations as we do Malik, so you can see the similarities there.”
Watch out for fouls
In addition to stopping Mitchell, the Hurricanes will have to be careful not to get in foul trouble.
“T.O. Barrett, Mark Mitchell, they put a lot of pressure on you in the paint and a lot of pressure on you at the rim, so we really have to make sure we’re hitting with our chest, showing our hands, not giving them any free points from the free throw line,” Lucas said.
Who are the most famous Mizzou alumni?
Actor Brad Pitt majored in Journalism at Missouri, singer Sheryl Crow (Class of ’84) got her Bachelor’s degree in Education there, actor Jon Hamm earned a bachelor of arts from Missouri in 1993. Others include David Novak, co-founder of Yum! Brands (Pizza Hut, Taco Bell, KFC), and NFL Hall of Famer Kellen Winslow.
What is their mascot?
Truman the Tiger, named after U.S. President and Missouri native Harry S. Truman, debuted as mascot in 1986.
Why is the Mizzou student fan group called The Antlers?
The name Antlers has nothing to do with the school per se. It comes from a dance that started in 1976 by some fans mimicking a Saturday Night Live skit where Lily Tomlin danced with her fingers acting as antlers on both sides of her head. While the Mizzou pep band played The Missouri Waltz, some students performed the dance and it stuck. Those diehard student fans are known for their costumes, head gear and whistle-to-whistle spirit.
What are Mizzou’s game-day traditions?
M-I-Z-Z-O-U Chant: Fans call-and-response chant between opposing sides of the arena.
“Mr. Brightside” Anthem: The Killers’ song “Mr. Brightside” is played at games. The band also plays “The Missouri Waltz.”
Surely, playing in their home state, Mizzou fans will show up in big numbers. But Lucas said his team will be ready for the occasion.
“It’s another big road game for us,” he said. “We’ve played in these environments before. We just need to stay true to who we are and do what we do. Business as usual.”
This story was originally published March 19, 2026 at 4:18 PM.