After back-to-back heartbreaking losses to start SEC play, first-year head coach Steven Pearl and the Auburn Tigers men’s basketball team roared back dominantly last Saturday, taking down John Calipari’s No. 15 Arkansas Razorbacks 95–73.
The win marks Auburn’s second top-15 win of the season and its third-largest victory against a ranked opponent in school history.
They will hope to keep the train rolling this Wednesday on the road against a Missouri team that finds itself 2–1 in SEC play this season.
Missouri holds an overall record of 12–4 on the year, including an impressive 10–0 home record at Mizzou Arena. Auburn has been a tough opponent in recent years, currently holding a five-game winning streak against Mizzou.
Missouri’s start to SEC play has been marked by some exciting underdog wins. In their first two conference games, Mizzou defeated the defending national champion No. 22 Florida Gators 76–74 before heading to Lexington to take down the historically dominant Kentucky Wildcats in a 73–68 road victory. They came back down to earth last Saturday, however, dropping a game to Ole Miss 76–69 in Oxford, giving the Rebels their first SEC win of the year.
Mizzou’s offense has been extremely efficient from all areas of the court this season. The black-and-gold Tigers carry the best field goal percentage in the SEC (51.3%) and the fourth-best three-point percentage (36%). This could prove to be an issue for Auburn, which currently allows the worst opponent field goal percentage in the entire conference—though that is likely more due to the Tigers’ fourth-strongest strength of schedule in the nation than any defensive woes.
The Tigers will have to be on the lookout for Mizzou’s dynamic offensive duo of senior forward Mark Mitchell and junior guard Anthony Robinson II.
Mitchell has been outstanding as a scorer this season. The former Duke transfer and All-SEC recipient is averaging 17.4 points per game on 56.7% shooting from the floor (second-best in the SEC) while also leading Mizzou in rebounding (5.3 per game).
Robinson II, while not as much of a scoring threat, has been an excellent playmaker on both sides of the court, ranking in the top 10 in the SEC in both assists (4.1 per game) and steals (2.2 per game). With a majority of Missouri’s points this season coming from inside the three-point line, Auburn will need to ensure its paint defense is top-notch if it hopes to be victorious Wednesday night.
As for Auburn’s offense, it is coming off its most impressive performance of the season. Star forward Keyshawn Hall has scored 32 points in back-to-back games, becoming the first Tiger to do so since Wesley Person in 1994.
Keyshawn Hall (7) scores against Arkansas in Neville Arena on January 10, 2026.
KeShawn Murphy has also been playing well as of late, securing his first double-double of the year against the Razorbacks.
Guard Tahaad Pettiford will also look to continue his strong road play this season. In his last five road games, Pettiford is averaging 21.4 points per game and shooting over 40% from three-point range.
Tahaad Pettiford (0) scores against Arkansas in Neville Arena on January 10, 2026.
With road victories in the SEC being so valuable for postseason berths, Wednesday’s game against Mizzou is almost a must-win for Auburn. Be sure to catch your Tigers as they take on unranked Missouri this Wednesday at 6:00 p.m. CST!
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Jonathan is a freshman majoring in industrial and systems engineering. He started with The Plainsman in the fall of 2025.
