Ah, the dreaded 8-9 matchup in every tournament bracket. The Missouri Tigers finished the SEC regular season as the eight seed following their loss at Tennessee which dropped them to 9-9 in the conference. Because of their two losses to LSU and Ole Miss, they drop the tie-breaker, which could have had the Tigers as high as the sixth seed.
Now, Mizzou will have a rematch with Texas A & M…a team that is going to be gunning for this one. Last Wednesday, they led at Mizzou Arena for 39 minutes and 52 seconds, only to lose.
What makes this matchup difficult is the Tigers will have to face the number one seed and undefeated Florida Gators (18-0), should Mizzou get past the Aggies. Some will argue, just how motivated will the Gators be to play a long draining SEC Tournament now that they have their sights set on a bigger prize? Believe they’ll be motivated. A number seed in the NCAA’s is up for grabs. Billy Donovan will have them ready to play in their first game.
The Gators are coming off their biggest home win in school history, where tickets on the street were going for a reported $500 on Saturday. Florida walloped Kentucky 84-65.
Maybe I’m looking too far past A & M. The Aggies have a score to settle and Mizzou is reeling. The Tigers feel they have to win all four games if they want a shot at the NCAA Tournament…they may not leave Atlanta with one.
SEC Tournament schedule
