Tennessee basketball is loaded with stars like Nate Ament and Jakobi Gillespie, who will both present viable challenges to Mizzou in their game Tuesday night.
COLUMBIA, Mo. — Mizzou basketball is set to host No. 22 Tennessee at 8 p.m. Tuesday. The Tigers are currently 2-4 against ranked opponents, having most recently lost to No. 20 Arkansas on Sunday in a high-scoring affair.
Tennessee, on the other hand, is red-hot, having picked up four consecutive wins
Nate Ament
Ament is a majority-projected top-10 pick in the upcoming 2026 NBA Draft and has emerged as one of the best freshman in the Southeastern Conference. He's averaging 18 points, 6.5 rebounds and 2.5 assists and 1 steal per game.
The star freshman recently hit a go-ahead shot against Vanderbilt to knock off the ranked commodores and is catching his stride at the right time, scoring 22 or more points in four of his last six games.
Standing at 6-foot-10 with a handle, Ament presents a size mismatch that could become a problem for the Tigers, who have struggled to match up with sizable frontcourts when dealing with foul trouble. Shutting him down will be key to slowing down the Volunteers offense.
Ja'Kobi Gillespie
While Ament presents the biggest threat in the frontcourt, Gillespie leads the Volunteers with 18.1 points, 5.3 assists and 1.9 steals per game. The senior guard offers an experienced profile including off-bounce scoring, jumpshooting and finishing.
The task of slowing him down will fall largely on the shoulders of starting and backup point guards T.O. Barrett and Anthony Robinson II. Robinson was an All-SEC defender last season and Barrett is earning the same level of respect as the season goes on — both are quality matchups to handle Gillespie.
Like Ament, this will be the Tigers first look at Gillespie, as he spent his first three collegiate seasons split between Belmont and Maryland.
Rebounding
Tennessee ranks second in the SEC with 42.9 rebounds per game while Missouri ranks 12th with 36.1. Five Volunteers average five or more rebounds per game opposed to just three Tigers doing so.
Missouri has scraped by teams recently by getting after it on the offensive glass and creating bonus possessions for itself. Those extra possessions have become invaluable for a Tigers' team that doesn't have the most efficient offense but makes up for it in quantity.
Tennessee could — and likely will — take away that advantage by outrebounding the Tigers on Tuesday evening.