Missouri vs. Cleveland State
Where? Mizzou Arena; columbia, mo
radio Tiger Radio Network
ESPN’s chances of victory 98.8% probability
Yes: Anthony Robinson II (JR, 11.6 ppg)
Yes: Sebastian Mack (JR, 10.7 ppg)
F: Javon Porter (SR, 7.9 ppg)
F: Mark Mitchell (SR, 18.1 ppg)
C: Shawn Phillips, Jr. (SR, 8.8 ppg)
Notable sixth men: Jacob Cruz (SR, 12.1 ppg)
F: Dayan Nesta (SO, 15.5 ppg)
F: Priest Ryan (JR, 7.6 ppg)
Yes: Jadon Lipscomb (SR, 5.1 ppg)
Yes: Foster Wonders (SR, 6.3 ppg)
Yes: Chevalier Emery (JR, 9.9 ppg)
Notable sixth men: Holden Pierre-Louis (SO, 3.0 ppg)
Note: These starting lineups are approximate.
Get to Know the Cleveland State Vikings
Thanks to Dennis Gates, Cleveland State.
From Sam Snelling’s preseason preview:
(Gates) was the eighth coach in program history and just the third coach to take them to the NCAA Tournament, earning a No. 15 seed in 2021.
After Gates’ successful three-year tenure, he hired Daniel Robinson, who continued the momentum created by Gates. The Vikings have won 20 games or more in four consecutive seasons. So when Robinson left for the North Texas job at the end of last season, he turned to a familiar face to keep things going.
Rob Summers has a long history with Dennis Gates. He joined Gates’ first staff at Cleveland State before joining Missouri last season. Before rejoining Gates, Summers was the associate head coach at Miami of Ohio.
After last season, Summers took the head coaching job with Cleveland State. This is his first D1 head coaching gig.
There are 15 players on the 2025-26 online roster who played 0 minutes at Cleveland State last season. There is one freshman signing, one international signing and then 13 transfers.
Practically the entire starting lineup for the Vikings this season is transfers.
Trey Beard, who is currently dealing with a knee injury, is from Shawnee State, Chevalier “Ice” Emery is from Western Carolina, Foster Wonders is from Green Bay, and Jaedon Lipscomb is from Florida International. Additionally, Josiah Harris, who was dealing with an undisclosed injury, joined the Vikings from Akron.
Two other starters Dayan Nessa and Priest Ryan, both sophomores, also transferred to the summer team.
Like their previous opponent, the Tigers will be facing a team that is trying to make its mark with new talent.
This season, the Vikings have won total games so far. The wins came against Capital University, Radford and Waynesburg. Two of these games were decided by just a few points; However, the team posted a triple-digit performance against Waynesburg.
The Vikings have competed hard in all games this season except a loss against Northwestern in Gates’ hometown of Chicago.
Cleveland State will enter Mizzou Arena ready to cause chaos. The Vikings seek vengeance. In the team’s first meeting, they will try to show Gates the new identity of the team. Coach Summers will also want to use what he learned from Gates to lead his team to victory.
Because of this desire to defeat the Tigers, Cleveland State will look to get off to a fast start. The Vikings can thrive in chaos if they don’t allow Mizzou to comfortably get into the game. If the Tigers can drive the lane while taking optimal shots beyond the arc, they will be able to stretch Cleveland State’s defense and pull away early.
Mizzou has failed to become a strong rebounding team over the past few years. When teams find ways to take advantage of this, it makes it very difficult for the Tigers on the court. Cleveland State is a team that loves to paint and work on the glass.
He had strong rebounding numbers in the two most recent games the Vikings won. Harris, one of Cleveland State’s top players, recently had 15 rebounds in a single game. However, he is predicted to miss one more game due to an undisclosed injury. Taking advantage of a missing big man is key to winning games on the glass.
Mizzou loves to take advantage of second-point opportunities and fast break opportunities. Along with the starters, the bench will also want to take advantage of the opportunity presented to them and make a splash. The Vikings average 14.9 turnovers per game, Mizzou will make a significant effort to force them.
The Vikings average nearly 16 points against turnovers. Gates has mentioned in a few press conferences that turnovers are something the team wants to keep under control. Ample opportunities here.
After checking the injury report of Anor Boateng, we can also mark Trent Burns. The 7-footer made his debut with the Tigers on Tuesday afternoon. The sophomore played only eleven minutes but dished out seven points, collected three rebounds and contributed with one block.
Word regarding Trent Pierce is still unknown. Pierce was recently practicing with the team; However, Gates has kept him out of action all season so far, nor has he provided any practice updates. Details of his injury are still not known.
Like the saying ‘one step forward, two steps back’, the Tigers can never rest from injuries. As the group reunites with Burns, devastating news arrives regarding Jaden Stone. The graduate student injured his non-shooting hand during practice and will be out for approximately 3-4 weeks.
In a Mizzou Hoops post on Twitter, it noted that “he will be reevaluated in three weeks with an estimated timeline of returning to the court in four weeks.”
The sixth member of the team, Stone is the team’s second-leading scorer so far this season.
“After missing last season due to injury, it was great to see him back into his element and be such a strong contributor to our early season success,” Gates said. “However, this is just a small bump in the road, and we look forward to having him back on the court before SEC play begins.”
My Prediction: Mizzou 91, Cleveland State 71
The Tigers should take care of this game in the end, but that doesn’t mean there won’t be flare-ups in close games. This Vikings squad is filled with new recruits and transfers, but still has loads of talent, even if they are still working out how to put it together in the game landscape. I think Gates will have his own team ready to go and take over the business seamlessly.
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