Where will Mizzou basketball land on Selection Sunday? NCAA Tournament projections
A 95-81 SEC Tournament loss to the Florida Gators ended the Missouri Tigers’ dreams of an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament, but rest assured, the Tigers will still be dancing regardless.
It’s a position the Tigers weren’t anywhere close to at this time last year. A winless SEC run in 2023-24 put Mizzou watching from the outside, a feeling that head coach Dennis Gates didn’t want to replicate.
At 22-11, and 10-8 in conference, the Tigers have secured their spot through their resume. They have three top-5 AP wins (including one over then-No. 1 Kansas). They rank 17th in KenPom and sit at No. 21 in the AP Top 25.
The Tigers didn’t need the SEC Tournament Championship to secure a bid, and now Gates and his squad can take the next few days to rest, regroup and get healthy — especially with the absence of leading scorer Mark Mitchell. (He was unavailable against Florida with a knee injury.)
With that being said, what can Mizzou fans expect this Selection Sunday?
Bracket Matrix tracks more than 100 “Bracketology” sites, and to no surprise, the Tigers are projected to make the tournament in each of the 109 listed.
Mizzou’s average, as of Friday night, was a 6.57 in terms of seeding. The Tigers’ highest seed projection was listed as a No. 5. They’re projected as low as a No. 8.
Here are a few notable bracket projections to watch ahead of Selection Sunday...
Joe Lunardi (ESPN)
Updated at 9:20 p.m. Central, less than an hour after Mizzou’s loss to Florida, Lunardi’s latest Bracketology has Missouri headed to the West Region (and starting in Milwaukee for the first two rounds).
Earlier Friday, Mizzou was listed as a No. 7 seed, but has since moved up to the No. 6 line.
Should that hold, Mizzou would play one of Lunardi’s bubble teams. He projects them to face one of North Carolina or San Diego State.
North Carolina fell to Duke in the ACC semifinals, while SDSU fell to Boise State in the Mountain West quarterfinals.
Jerry Palm (CBS)
Palm similarly has Mizzou as a No. 6 seed, though this time drawing the South region and starting play in Providence.
The Tigers would play one of Palm’s First Four teams for the region with projected No. 11 seeds Indiana and Boise State.
Mike DeCourcy (FOX)
DeCourcy has Missouri as a No. 6 seed as well, also in the South region. He has them playing Baylor in the first round.
The Bears fell in the Big 12 quarterfinals on Thursday, a close 76-74 finish against Texas Tech.
Bart Torvik
One of the projections to have Mizzou this high, Torvik has the Tigers as a No. 5-seed.
At any rate, the Tigers are safely in the field and should be headed for a memorable Selection Sunday.
