ESPN says Mizzou has ‘work to do’ to make the NCAA Tournament field
By David Wasson
Published:
March Madness is still a few weeks away, but hopeful teams vying for spots in the field of 68 are already doing the calculus on what it may take to earn an at-large bid if they aren’t worthy enough to be an automatic qualifier.
Trying to gauge which teams are in, out, and on the proverbial bubble is its own cottage industry, with ESPN analyst Neil Paine among those trying to decipher big-time programs’ chances of going dancing. Among the hopeful teams in the Southeastern Conference are the Missouri Tigers, who improved to 17-7 on Wednesday night after stunning Texas A&M, 86-85
Mizzou is currently in a 5-way logjam for fourth in the SEC, at 7-4.
Here is how Paine analyzed Mizzou’s chances of making the NCAA Tournament field in a piece on Thursday for ESPN:
After a recent cold stretch, the Tigers won their third straight game (and fourth in five) with a comeback win over Texas A&M in College Station on Wednesday, courtesy of Shawn Phillips Jr.’s go-ahead dunk and game-saving block in the final 20 seconds. They still rank just 11th among SEC teams in the résumé average — a tough spot to be in with the conference projected for 10 tournament entries at most. Mizzou does have a pair of Quadrant 1A wins (Florida and Kentucky) and five against the BPI top 50. But even if its résumé is on par with that of Texas, Missouri is much lower in the predictive metrics. Saturday’s game against the Longhorns in Columbia looms large.
Missouri ranks 13th in the SEC and 105th nationally in scoring at 80.5 points per game, with guard Mark Mitchell leading the Tigers by delivering 17.2 points per outing.
The Tigers also allow 73.9 points per game, which ranks sixth in the SEC but sits close to 200th nationally. Of Mizzou’s 4 conference losses, 2 have come to ranked teams (74-72 vs. then-No. 21 Georgia and 90-62 to then-No. 23 Alabama).
Texas comes to town on Saturday for an 8:30 p.m. ET tip.
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An APSE national award-winning writer and editor, David Wasson has almost four decades of experience in the print journalism business in Florida and Alabama. His work has also appeared in The New York Times, The Washington Post, the Los Angeles Times and several national magazines and websites. He also hosts Gulfshore Sports with David Wasson, weekdays from 3-5 pm across Southwest Florida and on FoxSportsFM.com. His Twitter handle: @JustDWasson.
