At a bare minimum, the Missouri Tigers did what they needed to do at the SEC Tournament in Nashville this weekend. Well, not getting COVID was the first priority, but the next was to get a win over Georgia. And they did.
It wasn’t pretty, it wasn’t easy, but with a 73-70 victory over Georgia on Thursday night — Missouri has advanced to their first SEC Tournament Quarterfinals for the first time since March 14th, 2014.
This win should be enough to get the Tigers off that dang 8/9 line for the NCAA Tournament. A win over Arkansas can jump them to a No. 6 seed, but it’s fair to say that this would be their ceiling to play for.
In the latest projections (subject to change, of course) CBS Sports’ Jerry Palm has Mizzou as a No. 6 seed vs Louisville, and ESPN’s Joe Lunardi has Mizzou as a No. 8 seed vs UCONN.
For now, Mizzou stays put as a No. 7 seed in this latest edition of Rock-M-Tology.
TRENDING UP:
- Oklahoma State (19-7): Back-to-back wins over West Virginia (one in the regular season finale on the road without Cade Cunningham). The Cowboys are also 9-1 in their last 10 games.
- Creighton (19-7): With Villanova’s loss, the Blue Jays have a clear path to win a Big East Tournament Championship and possibly get a top-four seed.
TRENDING DOWN:
- Michigan State (15-12): The Spartans are still in after Sunday’s win over Michigan, but for the first time under Tom Izzo, they haven’t reached the Big Ten Quarterfinals. The loss to Maryland and a 15-12 overall record just might put them in the First Four.
- Louisville (13-7): The Cardinals are still in a this point, but losing their first game in the ACC Tournament to Duke has their at-large resume looking shaky.
Last Few In
These would be among the last in without their conference’s automatic bid.
- Drake (24-4)
- Michigan State (15-12)
- Syracuse (16-9)
- Utah State (19-7)
First Few Out
- Boise State (18-8)
- Saint Louis (14-6)
- Ole Miss (16-10)
- Seton Hall (14-12)
Automatic Bids:
- Liberty (Atlantic Sun)
- Morehead State (OVC)
- Winthrop (Big South)
- Loyola-Chicago (Missouri Valley)
- UNC-Greensboro (Southern)
- Appalachian State (Sun Belt)
- Mount St. Mary’s (NEC)
- Cleveland State (Horizon)
- Drexel (Colonial)
- Oral Roberts (Summit)
- Gonzaga (WCC)
TOP 16 SEEDS:
- Gonzaga (26-0)
- Baylor (22-1)
- Michigan (19-3)
- Illinois (20-6)
- Iowa (20-7)
- Alabama (21-6)
- Houston (21-3)
- Ohio State (19-8)
- Arkansas (21-5)
- Oklahoma State (19-7)
- Kansas (20-8)
- Florida State (15-5)
- Purdue (18-8)
- Virginia (18-6)
- West Virginia (18-8)
- Texas (18-7)
BY CONFERENCE:
Big Ten: 9
ACC; 8
Big 12: 7
SEC: 6
PAC-12: 4
Big East: 3
Atlantic-10: 2
WCC: 2
Missouri Valley: 2
American: 2
THE BRACKET:
FIRST FOUR (Assembly Hall):
- Norfolk State (15-7) vs Prairie View (15-4)
- Drake (25-4) vs Syracuse (16-9)
- Mount St. Mary’s (12-10) vs Drexel (12-7)
- Utah State (19-7) vs Michigan State (15-12)
[REGIONAL 1]
- No. 1 Gonzaga (26-0) vs No. 16 Norfolk State/Prairie View
- No. 8 UCONN (14-6) vs No. 9 Georgia Tech (16-8)
- No. 5 Villanova (16-6) vs No. 12 Western Kentucky (18-6)
- No. 4 West Virginia (18-9) vs No. 13 Winthrop (23-1)
- No. 6 Tennessee (17-7) vs No. 11 Wichita State (15-4)
- No. 3 Florida State (15-5) vs No. 14 UNC-Greensboro (21-8)
- No. 7 Loyola-Chicago (24-4) vs No. 10 VCU (19-6)
- No. 2 Ohio State (19-8) vs No. 15 Colgate (13-1)
[REGIONAL 2]
- No. 1 Illinois (20-6) vs No. 16 Oral Roberts (16-10)
- No. 8 BYU (20-6) vs No. 9 Florida (14-8)
- No. 5 USC (21-6) vs No. 12 Drake/Syracuse
- No. 4 Purdue (18-8) vs No. 13 Iona (10-5)
- No. 6 San Diego State (21-4) vs No. 11 Wichita State (15-4)
- No. 3 Arkansas (21-5) vs No. 14 Nicholls State (17-6)
- No. 7 Colorado (20-7) vs No. 10 Maryland (16-12)
- No. 2 Iowa (20-7) vs No. 15 Southern Utah (20-3)
[REGIONAL 3]
- No. 1 Baylor (22-1) vs No. 16 Mount St. Mary’s/Drexel
- No. 8 Wisconsin (17-11) vs No. 9 North Carolina (18-9)
- No. 5 Oklahoma (15-10) vs No. 12 Utah State/Michigan State
- No. 4 Virginia (18-6) vs No. 13 Liberty (23-5)
- No. 6 Oregon (20-5) vs No. 11 Colorado State (17-5)
- No. 3 Oklahoma State (19-7) vs No. 14 Cleveland State (19-7)
- No. 7 Texas Tech (17-10) vs No. 10 Rutgers (15-10)
- No. 2 Alabama (21-6) vs No. 15 Appalachian State (17-11)
[REGIONAL 4]
- No. 1 Michigan (19-3) vs No. 16 Hartford (14-8)
- No. 8 LSU (16-8) vs No. 9 UCLA (17-9)
- No. 5 Creighton (19-7) vs No. 12 Toledo (21-7)
- No. 4 Texas (18-7) vs No. 13 UC-Santa Barbara (20-4)
- No. 6 Virginia Tech vs No. 11 Saint Bonaventure (15-4)
- No. 3 Kansas (20-8) vs No. 14 Morehead State (23-7)
- No. 7 Missouri (16-8) vs No. 10 Clemson (16-8)
- No. 2 Houston (21-3) vs No. 15 Grand Canyon (15-6)
First Glance At A Final Four:
Gonzaga, Iowa, Baylor, Michigan
Second glance: Gonzaga, Illinois, Alabama, Houston
Missouri’s inevitable path to destiny:
Clemson, Houston, kansas, Michigan, Baylor, Gonzaga. ‘To The Finish Line’.....MIZ!