After Missouri lost to Alabama, Tide forward Charles Bediako was ruled ineligible just weeks later, creating an unusual situation with how to view the game from a resume perspective. Now, it appears that the Selection Committee will take into account that Missouri's loss was against a player now deemed ineligible.
And while the win for Alabama and the loss for Missouri won't be adjusted in any way, it is good to hear that Mizzou will recieve a bit of grace from the committee. So what does head coach Dennis Gates think about all this?
Dennis Gates provided some interesting thoughts on the Alabama situation
"I don't want to penalize Alabama," he said. "The kid [Bediako], you know, he's just trying to reinvigorate his college career. Like I said, I support Bediako. I don't make the decisions as it relates to the, what was it? TROS or something like that? And then the NCAA rules. A loophole has been found. There's other pros that play, it has to be cleaned up."
Gates as always said he doesn't blame Bediako, and that he blames the loophole. But he did also make it clear that he wouldn't be against the loss being forgiven.
"Now with that, I would love to make sure--you know, coaches get hired and fired because of losses. So let's just document that right now. If you lose, you get fired as a coach. So I would love that loss to get off my schedule and off my record. It may not be a win, but I would love for the loss to be off because our jobs are predicated on wins and losses and at least that ratio. So if somebody can help me file some paperwork to get the loss off mine, if there's a governor or somebody in Missouri who wants to file a restraining order against a loss, I'll take it."
At this point, the loss being removed seems highly unlikely, and obviously Gates made his comments a bit tongue-in-cheek, but it's still nice to know that the game won't hurt Missouri's NCAA Tournament resume. While it's unclear how the committee will now view the game, there is hope knowing that potentially it may be wiped off of their unofficial record in their minds.