Mizzou awaits Selection Sunday after SEC Tournament loss to Alabama: recap, analysis

Missouri basketball missed its chance against Alabama in the SEC Tournament semifinals on Saturday.

The Tigers had a lead early in the second half, but by the time coach Dennis Gates took a timeout with 9:34 left, the Crimson Tide were on a 14-3 run, and Missouri’s inability to make anything happen offensively had doomed it to defeat.

The Crimson Tide won the game 72-61. The Tigers shot a paltry 32% from the field.

“I thought our guys did a good job,” Gates said after the game. “It was a game of runs. Opportunities slipped. I didn’t think we managed the game as it relates to trying to get to that free throw line when we were missing wide-open three-pointers or wide-open rim shots. We just didn’t execute.”

The Tigers took the lead early in the half, when D’Moi Hodge made a three-pointer out of the break. Alabama head coach Nate Oats immediately took a timeout, and according to the ESPN broadcast, told his team to stop playing soft.

The Tigers were able to hold the lead for the next bit, though both teams were ice cold. Despite a blistering fast pace of play, when Gates called a timeout with 14:48 left and his team up 37-36, the Tigers had missed their last seven from the field, and the Crimson Tide their last four.

Then, Brandon Miller started to take the game over. Missouri didn’t have an answer, going cold from the field and fading as the half went along.

D’Moi Hodge led the Tigers with 21 points.

Starting close

Missouri scored the first points of the game after Alabama missed a three-pointer early. Kobe Brown posterized a Crimson Tide defender at the other end, giving the Tigers the initial lead.

Alabama got off to an ice-cold start from the field, and the Tigers led 7-5 at the under-16 timeout. The Crimson Tide were 0-for-8 from three-point range and just 2-for-11 from the field at that point.

Then Alabama went on a 6-0 run, exploiting some Missouri defensive holes and poor shooting at the other end by the Tigers. Gates took his first timeout with 12:05 left to try and help his team pull things together.

It didn’t help their shooting much, though Nick Honor was able to make the first three-pointer of the game for either team. By the under-eight timeout, the Tide led 22-14 and later got it up to 26-16.

The Tigers then started to click offensively. D’Moi Hodge made a shot, Noah Carter drilled a three, then DeAndre Gholston did the same.

Brown found Hodge down the court for a dunk to make the sore 29-26, but Brown was injured on the play. After the timeout, he got back onto the court and appeared to be fine, though he quickly committed his second foul and Gates took him out.

Despite the poor shooting early, the Tigers got to the halftime break down just 31-29 after Hodge hit a buzzer-beating three with a high degree of difficulty, twisting to get the shot off from the corner as he sailed out of bounds.

All-in-all, the half could have had a far worse result for the Tigers.

“Obviously how we ended the first half I’m extremely proud of,” Gates said. “We started that first half 6-for-25. Finished 6 of 8 from the field, which was outstanding.”

What’s next?

The good news for Missouri is that it seems to be a lock for the NCAA tournament, even with the loss. Gates has orchestrated a brilliant turnaround for the Tigers this season, and it will be rewarded with a spot in the Big Dance.

The bad news is MU has run out of opportunities to improve its seeding. The team’s resume looks solid: 23 victories, a double-bye in the SEC tournament, and wins over Kentucky, Iowa State, Tennessee and more.

Still, Missouri could be dinged due to not doing as well in the predictive metrics, such as Ken Pomeroy’s rankings and the NET.

Before Saturday’s matchup, ESPN projected the Tigers as a No. 7 seed. Joe Lunardi placed MU in the West Regional, playing Penn State in Sacramento.

CBS Sports had Missouri as a No. 6 seed. Jerry Palm projected MU be in the Midwest region and play Pitt in the first round, with the game in Denver.

USA Today placed the Tigers in the east region, playing Memphis in Des Moines. The projection placed Missouri as a No. 7 seed.

The NCAA Tournament Selection Show is scheduled for 5 p.m. on Sunday, and the entire bracket will be revealed at that time. The show will be aired on CBS.

This story was originally published March 11, 2023 at 2:30 PM with the headline "Mizzou awaits Selection Sunday after SEC Tournament loss to Alabama: recap, analysis."