Dennis Gates addresses the losing at Missouri, and why he’s still proud of his team

The year was 1908.

The Ford Model T was released. Theodore Roosevelt was the president. The Chicago Cubs won their last World Series for 108 years.

Mizzou men’s basketball went winless in the Missouri Valley Intercollegiate Athletic Association. The Tigers played their entire slate in a Tour De Midwest in a period of less than a month. To this day, that stands as the only winless conference record in MU history.

That could change Saturday, when Missouri faces LSU in Baton Rouge.

That’s because on Tuesday at Mizzou Arena, Missouri lost its 17th straight SEC game — all of its SEC games. The latest in the long line of defeats came in a 101-74 hammering against No. 13 Auburn, as MU did what it so often has:

Missouri hung around in the first half thanks to offensive spark plugs Tamar Bates and Sean East II. The Tigers kept it close, fell down double digits and so on and on … until the clock hit zeros, and Missouri’s SEC win column stayed at 0.

Mizzou has one opportunity left to avoid a winless SEC season.

The question stands: Does that matter now?

If you ask Dennis Gates whether the LSU matchup carries any extra weight, he’ll turn to a similar refrain — one he’s turned to frequently through an unprecedented run.

“We’re always gonna go out every day in practice and give our very best. And in games, we’re always going to give our very best,” Gates said. “I don’t want these guys to be focused on the outcomes of things. I want them to be focused on the process, and the process demands from us unbelievable connection, unbelievable work ethic. And me as the head coach, I have to continue to demand it. Our team’s identity and character is always on display, and I think our guys give their very best regardless of the outcomes.”

Not much about the head coach’s tune changed between losses No. 1, 10 or, as of Saturday, 17.

He called Missouri’s current situation a “different circumstance,” adding that he’s not sure of a head coach who has had to deal with five in-season surgeries. John Tonje, Caleb Grill, Kaleb Brown, Trent Pierce and walk-on Danny Stephens are presumably the players who have had surgery.

“Mostly guys in the same position, right? I think those things you have to take account for,” Gates said, “but I’m not setting an excuse for anything. We still put on the jersey. We still go out there and compete, and the outcome, the record — I’ll look at it at the end of the season.”

At times he’s been more critical — dropping an F-bomb in a recent postgame news conference in reaction to the team’s inability to get to the free-throw line. He was given a technical during a game against Florida on Feb. 28, his first ‘T’ as Missouri’s coach. He appeared to get another against Auburn, although the stadium announcer said it was called on the Missouri bench.

But he’s more often than not turned to a similar line, and he said the same will apply for LSU.

“There’s no doubt our players go out and give their very best,” Gates said, “and they go out and try to win every single game, every moment, every second, every minute in every game.”

A win matters to East, who through the turmoil of the 2023-24 season has consistently produced on the offensive end of the floor. He played his final game at Mizzou Arena on Tuesday. He’s likely in the closing couple games of his college career.

“It’s not over,” East said. “... I mean, we’ve still got high hopes for this season, and we’re gonna keep on fighting each and every day.”

That hasn’t been easy.

MU is 0-17 in the SEC, after all. The Tigers are 8-22 overall, with no wins in this calendar year.

It’s as bad as it has been since about the turn of the 20th century.

You’d forgive a Missouri fan for looking forward to next season, when Mizzou is set to bring in the No. 4 recruiting class nationally.

But Gates won’t do that yet.

“I am absolutely proud of our guys. I am proud of each and every last one of them,” Gates said. “... I am absolutely proud of how they hold their head up, how they are standing two feet down, 10 toes in. I am proud of how they react to adversity and how they have been reacting to it. They’ve not shied away from walking on campus. They have not shied away from being a part of the student body, being a part of this city.

“ … There may not be an obstacle out there that you see another team go through and handle it how our guys did. At least you have a measuring rod for what it should look like.”

The Star has partnered with the Columbia Daily Tribune for coverage of Missouri Tigers athletics.