February 21, 2026; Fayetteville, Arkansas, USA; Missouri Tigers guard Mark Mitchell (25) shoots a free throw in the second half of the game against the Arkansas Razorbacks at Bud Walton Arena. Arkansas won 94-86. Mandatory Credit: Nelson Chenault-Imagn Image NASHVILLE – Coming off an opening win over LSU, Kentucky meets a rested Missouri team Wednesday in the second round of the Southeastern Conference tournament.
The Wildcats got 23 points and eight rebounds from Otega Oweh (18.3 ppg) in Wednesday’s win over LSU.
“I thought the O’s were great,” Kentucky coach Mark Pope said. “He started the game and grabbed some great defensive rebounds to set the tone for us. He’s an unbelievable decision-maker. He’s a force both offensively and defensively.”
Kentucky played with nine men, including Kam Williams, who logged 17 minutes and three points after missing the last 12 games with a foot injury.
The Wildcats also got an unexpected boost from Brandon Garrison (4.8 ppg), whose 17 points marked his third double-digit scoring game of the season.
Missouri, viewed as a potential No. 11 seed in several mock brackets, is fighting not only to advance to the NCAA Tournament but also to avoid a First Four next week in Dayton, Ohio.
The Tigers, ranked 59th in the NET rankings through Tuesday’s game, are 5-6 in Quad 1 games and 5-5 in Quad 2 games. Coach Dennis Gates believes the Tigers have other metrics going for them as well.
“Winning over the bubble is a matrix that the committee will continue to discuss,” Gates said earlier this week. “And now we’re 37th in the country in that category.”
Missouri has fallen in the rankings since Gates’ comments, but the good news for the Tigers is that they are 5-0 against teams remaining in the SEC Tournament bracket.
That includes Missouri’s lone meeting with the Wildcats, which they lost 73-68 on Jan. 7 in Lexington, Kentucky. Mark Mitchell led the Tigers with 21 points, Jayden Stone chipped in with 20 points and Oweh’s 20 points led Kentucky.
Mitchell leads the Tigers in scoring (17.9 ppg), rebounds (5.2 per game) and assists (3.6 per game), while Stone has 13.5 points and 5.0 boards per contest.
–Chris Lee (Field Level Media)
