After months, weeks, days and then hours of wondering where the Tigers might land in the NCAA Tournament bracket, we finally have our answer. Missouri drew the 10-seed in the West region, and will face 7-seed Miami in the their first matchup of the tourney.
At times over the last week or so, it looked as though Missouri may end up as an 11-seed or potentially even one of the play-in games. The Tigers dropped three-straight to end the season, and did little to help their case for the tournament. Luckily, most other bubble teams didn't fare much better, and Mizzou was rewarded with a solid 10-seed.
But despite the nice seeding, the Tigers got an even bigger win on Sunday night. Missouri will play their game in St. Louis, and just a short drive from CoMo.
Tigers win the seeding lottery with a home-court advantage over Miami
Miami is a tough draw, as the Hurricanes were the authors of a 10-game win streak at one point this season, but it can't be understated how perfect it is for Mizzou to get what is essentially a home game in their first matchup. The crowd should play a huge factor in a game where Missouri will need all the help they can get.
The Tigers enter the tournament mostly healthy, but despite that, haven't brought much momentum with them to St. Louis. The Tigers have lost their last three, and seemed to have peaked maybe a bit too early this year. Thankfully, Miami doesn't come riding a big high either after a brutal 22-point loss to Virginia in the ACC Tournament.
The Tigers will take on the Hurricanes on March 20th at the Enterprise Center in St. Louis. Should they win, they face the winner of 2-seeed Purdue and 15-seed Queens.