This Is March.

The Missouri Tigers entered the final week of the regular season with a double-bye in the SEC Tournament still within reach, but more importantly — they still had more work to do to be considered a 100 percent lock to make the NCAA Tournament. The win over Georgia on Saturday may have already done it, but to feel safe on Selection Sunday — one more win felt necessary.

On Wednesday, ESPN’s Joe Lunardi had Mizzou on the No. 8 seed line (31st overall).

Meahnwhile, NCAA March Madness’ Andy Katz had the Tigers on the 9 seed line.

So, step one for Mizzou was to clinch NCAA Tournament lock status. Step two is getting a double-bye, and step three is avoiding the 8/9 line.

Step one is done. With an 81-76 win on the road over LSU, Mizzou improved to 22-8 (10-7 SEC) on the season with a team-high 23 points from D’Moi Hodge.

Hodge also broke the program’s all-time single-season steals record with 77.

It was Mizzou’s first ever win at LSU. However, it didn’t come easy as Missouri found themselves trailing 47-34 at halftime.

An incredible comeback by the Tigers made it a memorable game in Mike Kelly’s 1,000th career call.

The night got better for the Mizzou Basketball team as Vanderbilt won at Kentucky 68-66 and Alabama beat Auburn 90-85 in overtime, which means Mizzou’s pursuit of a double-bye in the SEC Tournament is still alive and well heading into the regular season finale on Saturday vs Ole Miss.

Believe it or not, the Tigers can still get the No. 3 seed: Here are the potential scenarios and seeding for Saturday:

Onto the links. M-I-Z!

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Yesterday at Rock M

• PREVIEW from Brandon Haynes: Mizzou Hoops aims for first-ever win in Baton Rouge against lowly LSU
• Gamer from Parker Gillam: Another second half rally allows Mizzou MBB to claim first victory in Baton Rouge

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More Links:

(STLToday)

• Mizzou basketball at LSU from Dave Matter: Numbers to know for MU’s SEC road finale
• From Dave Matter: Five takeaways from Mizzou football defensive coaches, players
• From Calum McAndrew: Mizzou women’s basketball staggers into 2023 after late-season slide
• Game story from Dave Matter: Mizzou basketball rallies from 19 down at LSU in wild comeback victory

(Columbia Missourian)

• From Adam Ryerson: Former MU softball star Wilmes signs professional contract
• From Wendell Shephard Jr: Experience, continuity a strength for MU defense in 2023
• From our Parker Gillam: Tigers hope to keep postseason hopes alive at SEC Tournament
• From Joel Boenitz: MU track and field’s Fisher, Vilches selected for NCAA Indoor Championships
• From Jack Soble: Tigers getting first look at reworked defensive line room
• Game story from Jaden Lewis: D’Moi Hodge leads MU to comeback victory over LSU

(Columbia Daily Tribune)

• From Matt Stahl: Missouri’s Sam Horn will miss extensive baseball time with forearm injury
• From Matt Stahl: Mizzou topples LSU on the road in a comeback win. Here’s what happened.

(Miscellaneous/Tweets)

• Dennis Gates’ bat signal earlier on Wednesday was for JV Brown: More on MUTigers.com.

• Congrats to former Missouri Softball Tiger Brooke Wilmes, who has signed a professional fast-pitch contract with the Smash It Sports Vipers. Read more on MUTigers.com

• Women’s Basketball begins their SEC Tournament run today at 11:00 a.m. CST against Arkansas on the SEC Network. PREVIEW on MUTigers.com.

• On MUTigers.com, Nachev to Compete at European Indoor Championships
• From On3Sports: Ty’ron Hopper has been named one of the Top 10 linebackers in all of college football:

• From ABC17’s Nathalie Jones: Even Blake Baker was surprised about how many defensive players have returned, but it’s all about “unfinished business”:

• ($$) From FloWrestling Tiger Insider: How Two Words Became A Bedrock For Missouri Wrestling

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