Mizzou men’s basketball: The SEC schedule is out, and here’s who the Tigers are facing

The Southeastern Conference released 2021-22 men’s basketball conference schedules Wednesday morning, with several high-caliber opponents slated to play Missouri in Columbia.

The Tigers will welcome nine league foes to Mizzou Arena: Alabama, Arkansas, Auburn, Florida, Georgia, Ole Miss, Mississippi State, Tennessee and Texas A&M.

They will also travel for conference play nine times, against Alabama, Arkansas, Kentucky, LSU, Ole Miss, Mississippi State, South Carolina, Texas A&M and Vanderbilt.

Dates and times are yet to be announced.

Alabama, Arkansas and Tennessee were first, second and fourth, respectively, in last year’s final SEC standings, and all are widely projected to be hovering in and around the AP Top 25 poll early in the season. Missouri also returns after two years to play Kentucky at Rupp Arena, which slumped to a 9-16 record last year but has aggressively rebuilt, aiming to reestablish itself as one of college basketball’s premier powers.

Missouri finished 16-10 (8-8 SEC) on its way to a first-round appearance (and exit) in the NCAA Tournament last season.