Rock-M-Tology: A lot of movement, but Mizzou stays put on the three seed line

There were a lot of ranked teams that lost to unranked teams this week. Missouri wasn’t one of them. That should be rewarded.

By Sammy Stava@StavaonSTL Feb 5, 2021, 11:00am CST

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The Missouri Tigers did what they needed to do on Wednesday night and took care of business against Kentucky, setting up a game with much bigger implications against Alabama on Saturday (okay, well that felt weird to type). All in all, Mizzou’s best-case scenario this week was to avoid a blemish on their resume – and they did that. That’s important!

At 12-3 (5-3) and second place in the SEC right now, that is just good enough for Missouri to stay on the three seed line in this latest edition of Rock M Tology.

But here are the latest projections for Mizzou, according to other brackets:

Joe Lunardi made an appearance on the St. Louis radio airwaves last night, joining Brendan Wiese on The Big 550 KTRS’ “The Big Sports Show” to discuss the latest on Mizzou. Here’s his thoughts on the Tigers:

“You could probably make a case for them to be anywhere between a three, four or five, but they’re definitely closest to a No. 4 at this point.”

On Saturday’s match up with Alabama:

“It’s an opportunity, and in a way, it can’t really hurt them, it can only help them. The worst thing that can happen, barring losing at home by 30, is they fall maybe like half a seed line losing to a team like Alabama. So, it’s really everything to gain.”

TRENDING UP:

Loyola Chicago (15-3): The Ramblers have won eight consecutive games, with six of them being on the road in conference play. Their only three losses on the season are to Wisconsin, Richmond, and Indiana State. They’ll have a huge opportunity next weekend against an undefeated and ranked Drake team. The Missouri Valley is looking like a two-bid league right now.
USC (14-3): The Trojans have won nine out of their last ten games and play UCLA on Saturday night for a first place spot on the line in the PAC-12.
Illinois (12-5): The Illini have won three in a row and followed up their biggest win of the season over Iowa with a road win at Indiana. Wisconsin is up next on Saturday as they try to stay in the Big Ten title race down the stretch.
St. John’s (12-7): How about Mike Anderson’s team? The Red Storm have won five in a row and just made a statement with a win over Villanova to climb into the NCAA Tournament conversation.

TRENDING DOWN:

LSU (11-6): Will Wade’s Tigers are just 1-4 in their last five games with plenty of missed opportunities for resume building wins, and that includes a dreadful loss to Kentucky in there. (editor’s note: good, because you’re a cheater)
Indiana (9-8): The Hoosiers just can’t seem to capitalize on any momentum after their biggest win of the season at Iowa. Back-to-back home losses to Rutgers and Illinois, and have lost three out of their last four overall.
Tennessee (12-4): Thought they had turned the corner with the win over Kansas, but followed that up with a head-scratching loss to Ole Miss. The Vols are just 2-3 in their last five games.
North Carolina (11-6): A road loss to Clemson ended their modest three-game winning steak, but looking at their resume, the Tar Heels are only 57th in the NET rankings and 0-5 in Quadrant 1 games. Their game at Duke on Saturday might be becoming must-win territory.

Last Few In

These would be among the last in without their conference’s automatic bid.

Seton Hall (10-8)
VCU (13-4)
North Carolina (11-6)
St. John’s (12-7)

First Few Out

Indiana (9-8)
Stanford (11-7)
Saint Louis (7-3)
LSU (11-6)

TOP 16 SEEDS:

Gonzaga (18-0)
Baylor (17-0)
Michigan (13-1)
Alabama (15-4)
Villanova (11-2)
Ohio State (15-4)
Texas (11-4)
Virginia (12-3)
Iowa (13-5)
Illinois (12-5)
Missouri (12-3)
Texas Tech (13-5)
Houston (15-2)
West Virginia (12-5)
Wisconsin (14-5)
Oklahoma (11-5)

BY CONFERENCE:

Big Ten: 9

Big 12: 7

ACC: 6

Big East: 5

SEC: 5

Mountain West: 4

Missouri Valley: 2

THE BRACKET:

FIRST FOUR (Assembly Hall):

North Carolina A&T (8-9) vs Prairie View (7-4)
Seton Hall (10-8) vs VCU (13-4)
LIU-Brooklyn (6-3) vs Grand Canyon (12-3)
St. John’s (12-7) vs North Carolina (11-6)

[REGIONAL 1]

No. 1 Gonzaga (18-0) vs No. 16 North Carolina A&T/Prairie View
No. 8 UCONN (8-3) vs No. 9 St. Bonaventure (9-1)
No. 5 Creighton (13-5) vs No. 12 Louisiana (13-4)
No. 4 Oklahoma (11-5) vs No. 13 UC Irvine (9-5)
No. 6 Virginia Tech (13-4) vs No. 11 Utah State (13-5)
No. 3 Texas Tech (13-5) vs No. 14 Stephen F. Austin (11-3)
No. 7 Florida (10-5) vs No. 10 Colorado State (13-4)
No. 2 Ohio State (15-4) vs No. 15 Montana State (9-3)

[REGIONAL 2]

No. 1 Alabama (15-4) vs No. 16 Cleveland State (12-5)
No. 8 Drake (17-0) vs No. 9 BYU (14-4)
No. 5 Florida State (10-3) vs No. 12 Seton Hall/VCU
No. 4 Houston (15-2) vs No. 13 Winthrop (16-1)
No. 6 Purdue (12-7) vs No. 11 Richmond (10-4)
No. 3 Iowa (13-5) vs No. 14 Liberty (14-5)
No. 7 Oklahoma State (11-5) vs No. 10 Minnesota (11-7)
No. 2 Villanova (11-2) vs No. 15 Northeastern (8-6)

[REGIONAL 3]

No. 1 Baylor (17-0) vs No. 16 LIU-Brooklyn/Grand Canyon
No. 8 Boise State (14-2) vs No. 9 Clemson (11-5)
No. 5 Tennessee (12-14) vs No. 12 Western Kentucky (13-4)
No. 4 Wisconsin (14-5) vs No. 13 Toledo (16-4)
No. 6 USC (14-3) vs No. 11 Arkansas (14-5)
No. 3 Illinois (12-5) vs No. 14 Siena (8-2)
No. 7 Louisville (11-4) vs No. 10 Maryland (10-8)
No. 2 Texas (11-4) vs No. 15 Navy (11-2)

[REGIONAL 4]

No. 1 Michigan (13-1) vs No. 16 South Dakota (10-6)
No. 8 Rutgers (11-6) vs No. 9 Oregon (9-4)
No. 5 UCLA (13-3) vs No. 12 St. John’s/North Carolina
No. 4 West Virginia (12-5) vs No. 13 Vermont (7-3)
No. 6 Kansas (12-6) vs No. 11 Loyola-Chicago (15-3)
No. 3 Missouri (12-3) vs No. 14 Belmont (19-1)
No. 7 Xavier (11-2) vs No. 10 Colorado (13-5)
No. 2 Virginia (12-3) vs No. 15 UNC-Greensboro (13-5)

First Glance At A Final Four:

Gonzaga, Iowa, Baylor, Michigan

Second glance: Gonzaga, Villanova, Baylor, Virginia

Missouri’s inevitable path to destiny:

Belmont, kansas (just because), Virginia, Michigan, Baylor, Gonzaga. GIDDY UP!