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Tamar Bates: Mizzou is about ‘proving ourselves right’ over talking to doubters
By Paul Harvey
Published:
Tamar Bates and Mizzou are looking to try and punch a ticket to the NCAA Tournament down the road, and the Tigers continued their strong run in the SEC on Saturday. This time, it was a strong road win over Georgia that included a 49-33 swing in the 2nd half to push Mizzou to the 87-74 win.
That victory pushes the Tigers to an 8-4 record in league play, and that’s within the toughest conference in the country by a wide margin. Mizzou now has as many SEC wins as it had overall wins during last season’s 8-24 record, including a winless 0-18 mark in SEC play.
So, what is Tamar Bates’s message to the doubters? He insisted after Saturday’s win that the Tigers don’t have one. Instead, it’s all about Mizzou proving to itself what the team can do:
“I don’t think it’s a thing of us trying to prove anybody wrong at this point, we’re just proving ourselves right. We know who we are and who we have in that locker room,” said Bates. “At the end of the day, we’re going to keep playing ball.”
Bates was 1 of 4 Tigers in double figures on Saturday with 13 points as the team improved to 19-6 overall. While the SEC title is likely out of reach, Mizzou is fighting hard for the potential to clinch a double bye in the SEC Tournament at season’s end. And be sure to check out the bet365 Missouri bonus code for all the best offers on the Tigers.
Bates was also asked about the Tigers’ “hush” symbol, something that has become a staple in the postgame scenes after a win for Mizzou. He says it’s a simple reminder that Mizzou is not in the business of talking.
“We’re not going to do no talking. Like I just said, we know what we have in that locker room. We know nobody really bet on us to be good or respond from last year, we’re just going to keep hooping and keep proving ourselves right,” Bates explained. “It doesn’t have nothing to do with anybody outside of our locker room, it’s all about us.”
Paul Harvey lives in Atlanta and covers SEC football.
