How far can Mizzou basketball go in the SEC Tournament?
Welcome to March basketball.
In college basketball’s famed month, the Missouri Tigers got off to a solid start. They needed a number of results to go their way last Saturday to earn a No. 10 seed and a first-round bye for the SEC Tournament at Bridgestone Arena in Nashville, Tennessee, which starts Wednesday.
With the Tigers defeating Alabama, Arkansas losing to Texas A&M and other results around the league, Mizzou landed in 10th place after tiebreakers.
Not a bad start for a team looking to make an improbable run in Nashville.
As Mizzou prepares for the SEC Tournament, it starts against No. 7 Texas A&M at 6 p.m. Thursday. How far can they go? And what awaits them in a deep conference tournament run?
Against Texas A&M, it’s a matchup the Tigers struggled with this year, dropping both games. And while the cliche says it’s difficult to beat a team three times in a season, Texas A&M coach Buzz Williams’ team has had Mizzou’s number.
The first game was a 66-64 loss at Mizzou Arena, where Torrence Watson’s potential game-winning three-pointer hit the heel of the rim as time expired. Then Mizzou followed that up with a 68-51 defeat two weeks later.
But Mizzou coach Cuonzo Martin pointed out how the Tigers are a different team than early in the season. In game one, they missed forward Jeremiah Tilmon. In game two, they were without guard Mark Smith. The duo is back now and healthy.
“Both times, to their credit, they won the game,” Martin said of Texas A&M on Tiger Talk. “I’m not sure we were at a great place as a team both times. I think where we are now, we’re a different team.”
If the Tigers get past Texas A&M, they move on to Friday’s quarterfinals against No. 2 Auburn, which earned a double bye with a 12-6 SEC record. Mizzou has a solid history against Bruce Pearl and his Tigers, owning an 85-73 victory at home. But this time around, both teams will feature additional personnel, including Auburn’s Isaac Okoro and Mizzou’s Tilmon and Mark Smith.
There’s also another obstacle: playing every day.
If the tourney goes by chalk — which, in an upset-filled college basketball season, seems unlikely — the Tigers play No. 3 LSU in the semifinals Saturday, then No. 1 Kentucky in the finals Sunday. It’ll be a difficult, and historic, task, if Mizzou makes a run. Since joining the SEC, the Tigers have never made it to the weekend of the conference tournament.
A string of wins brings up a interesting postseason scenarios. While the NIT is looking like a far-off dream, if the Tigers make a run to the finals then lose, they’ll finish 18-17. That’ll likely push them into the consolation tournament, which features a 32-team field.
But at that point, the Tigers will be just one step away from the automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament. If they make it all the way to March Madness, it’ll be difficult to project what seed the selection committee puts them. Mizzou’s NET ranking at No. 84 is low, though four straight wins bumps that number up immensely.
If there’s a team comparison in that scenario, it’s 2007-08 Georgia. The Bulldogs were 13-16 and 4-12 in the SEC heading into the conference tournament — then they reeled off four straight wins in Atlanta. Georgia was a No. 14 seed in the NCAA Tournament, the lowest seed ever given to a power conference team. Mizzou likely doesn’t go that low if it won the SEC Tournament, but in the No. 12-13 range is likely.
So, crazier things have happened. With the Tigers trending up in recent weeks — while adding and meshing talent to the roster — they figure to be a tough out.