The Missouri Tigers are in the NCAA tournament as the #10 seed of the East Regional and will play Friday against Clemson who is the #7 seed. The Tigers finished 22-10 and will take on another Tiger team that is 21-10 and plays a very similar style.
I like Mizzou’s placement in the tournament. If they can get past Clemson, they would most likely face the #2 seed West Virginia who went 26-7. Marquette, who the Tigers beat last year, New Mexico or Washington would await after that. I know Tiger fans are down on the team after they stumbled against KU with 2 for 23 three point shooting and a quick exit last Wednesday against Nebraska, but that first round loss to the Huskers may turn out to be a blessing.
You hear about the early morning 6am conditioning workouts over the summer to get ready for the fast pace up and down style the Tigers play, but there was no doubt the Tigers looked warn out. Keith Ramsey logged a lot of minutes down the stretch with the absence of Justin Safford and I noticed shots coming up short, the sign of tired legs. Now with nine days in between games the Tigers will come out fresh.
If they can shake off their nerves like they did against Cornell in the first round last season, and get past Clemson in the first round, Mizzou is the type of team that if they catch fire at the right time, can become a very dangerous team.
Here’s the NCAA tournament bracket and comments from Coach Anderson at the Selection Show Party last night at Mizzou.
