The Mizzou men’s basketball team returns home for the first time in two weeks, welcoming Alabama State to Mizzou Arena on Thursday night. Tipoff is scheduled for 7 p.m. on SEC Network+.
PROMOTIONS
• Thursday marks MU’s Fighting for Literacy contest with donations being collected in support of Heart of Missouri United Way.
• Fans will also be treated to a Corgi race at the half, while a special $5 ticket promotion is available for the game.
ABOUT THE TIGERS
• Missouri is 8-2 this season, suffering back-to-back defeats at Notre Dame and No. 21 Kansas.
• Senior Mark Mitchell leads the Tigers with 18.4 points and 6.2 rebounds, while ranking second with 3.0 assists per game.
• Graduate student Jacob Crews is also scoring in double figures with 13.8 points per game.
• Junior Anthony Robinson II adds 9.6 points and leads Mizzou with 3.2 assists per game.
• The Tigers are averaging 87.4 points per game in 2025-26, while allowing 70.1.
ABOUT THE HORNETS
• Alabama State owns a 3-6 record this season, falling in its last three games.
• The Hornets are coming off a season where they went 20-16, won the SWAC Tournament and earned one win in the NCAA Tournament.
• Asjon Anderson leads Alabama State with 17.9 points and 4.4 assists per game, while Micah Simpson is second on the team with 16.9 points.
• Cameron Palesse has a team-best 5.0 rebounds.
• Through nine games, the Hornets are averaging 79.4 points, while allowing 81.4.
SERIES HISTORY
• The schools are meeting for the third time on the court and for the second-straight season.
• The Tigers have won both previous meetings, including an 82-65 win last season in the non-conference finale.
• Four Tigers scored in double figures in last year’s victory, led by 16 points from Tamar Bates.
MIZZOU VERSUS SWAC
• MU has won 28 of 29 meetings versus the SWAC with 27-of-29 games decided by double digits.
• The Tigers have already defeated one SWAC team this season, defeating Prairie View A&M, 91-73, on Nov. 17.
MR. VERSATILE, MARK MITCHELL
• Mark Mitchell has led the charge for Mizzou and has started the season on an elite level.
• Mitchell is averaging a team-best 18.4 points and 6.2 boards, while ranking second with 3.0 assists.
• In fact, he is one of just seven players in the nation averaging 18 points, six rebounds and three assists.
TOP SCORER
• While Mark Mitchell can do it all, he’s still best known for his scoring ability.
• Mitchell leads Missouri with 18.4 points, which is the highest average by a Tiger through the season’s first 10 games since Jordan Clarkson (19.4) and Jabari Brown (19.0) in 2013-14.
TOP RANKS FOR MITCHELL
• With his strong early start, Mark Mitchell ranks among the nation’s best in multiple stats.
• Leading the way is placing among the nation’s top 100 in scoring – ranking fifth in the SEC and 73rd in the country with his 18.4 points.
• Efficiency is the key as Mitchell also places 47th nationally with a field-goal percentage of 59.0.
• Mitchell is also one of the nation’s best at getting to the free-throw line – ranking fifth in attempts (84) and 23rd in makes (58).
THE CREWS MISSILE
• Graduate student Jacob Crews has been one of the top shooters nationally this season.
• Crews leads the Tigers with 28 made 3-pointers and a clip of 48.9 percent from beyond the arc.
• He currently ranks 20th in the nation in 3-point percentage and 70th with 2.80 triples per game.
• Crews has made at least three triples in six of the last seven games – shooting 23-of-48 during the stretch (47.9 percent).
STONE IMPACT
• One player the Tigers are missing as of late is graduate student Jayden Stone.
• Ranked third on the team in scoring with 13.1 points, Stone has missed the last four games with a hand injury.
• With Stone in the lineup, MU averaged 14.4 more points – shooting 12.7 percent better from the field and 17.1 percent better from three.
• Stone was the first Tiger to score 10-plus points in his first six career games at Mizzou since Jordan Clarkson in 2013.
ROBINSON LEADS MU DEFENSE
• Junior Anthony Robinson II entered the 2025-26 season as the frontrunner for the league’s Defensive Player of the Year accolade.
• Robinson was named to the SEC’s five-man All-Defensive Team as a sophomore. In fact, he is the only player returning from last year’s team.
• After finishing last season 38th nationally in steals, Robinson has picked up where he left off, leading Mizzou with 22 swipes in 10 games in 2025-26, placing 52nd with 2.20 per game.
