Mizzou basketball announces Big East opponent in Kansas City. Here are the details

Kansas City Star
·2 min read
  • Oops!
    Something went wrong.
    Please try again later.

The Missouri Tigers are set to face a Big East opponent in men’s basketball this December, the program announced on Friday.

Mizzou basketball will make its first trip to T-Mobile Center and Kansas City with Dennis Gates as coach, as the Tigers square off against the Seton Hall Pirates on Sunday, Dec. 17.

Tickets will go on sale later in August, a Mizzou athletics release noted, while the game time and TV info will be announced at a later date.

Mizzou last played at T-Mobile Center in the 2019 Hall of Fame Classic, when the Tigers faced Butler. They last faced Seton Hall in the 1992 NCAA Tournament, the only ever meeting between the two schools.

Both Gates and Seton Hall coach Shaheen Holloway, perhaps best known for taking Saint Peter’s on a miracle Elite Eight run that included wins over No. 2 seed Kentucky and No. 3 seed Purdue, commented on the game in the release announcing the news.

Gates called KC “a special place for Mizzou fans.”

“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 an 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.”

Holloway called the matchup a “quality game” and said he looks forward to “a great environment” in KC.

“I consider coach Gates to be one of the top coaches in college basketball today, and he’s building a great program at Mizzou,” Holloway said. “This will be a big-time test for our team before we start Big East play. We’re looking forward to the challenge.”

Seton Hall went 17-16 (10-10 Big East) in Holloway’s first season as coach. Mizzou went 25-10 (11-7 SEC), ending its NCAA Tournament drought before falling to No. 15-seed Princeton in the Round of 32.

Other Mizzou games on the schedule this year include a Dec. 3 clash with Wichita State, a Dec. 9 showdown at KU — which won last year’s game going away in Mizzou Arena — and a Tuesday showdown at Pittsburgh the week following Thanksgiving on Nov. 28.