Missouri suffered a tough loss to No. 20 Arkansas this week, and their NCAA Tournament dreams are still up in the air. At 18-9, the Tigers still have work to do, likely needing to win at least two of their remaining four games to secure a bid. But what if the season ended today?
Based on Bracket Matrix, which tracks the top 121 bracket predictions, the Tigers makes the tourney in 97 of them. Their highest projected seed is a nine, but Mizzou is still primarily being cast as a 10 or 11-seed. But if the season ended today, 80 percent of prominent bracketologists have the Tigers making the Big Dance.
What is the Tigers' path to making the NCAA Tournament with just four games left?
Over the past few games, Mizzou has climbed from a team on the outside looking in, to a play-in game, to now a team with a bye. Wins over No. 19 Vanderbilt and Texas A&M have helped to boost their resume, and the Tigers are now in a the favorable position of only needing to win 50 percent of their remaining contests.
Tennessee is next, which will certainly be a tough matchup, and Arkansas looms large as the final regular season game. If the Tigers are still looking for one last win on that final day, they'll need to pull out all the stops secure a tournament berth. Still, wins against Mississippi State and Oklahoma would get the job done for Mizzou.
Missouri has had a roller coaster season that has featured an eight-game win streak, as well as 26 and 43-point losses. Odds are that the Tigers will do enough to get in, and their remaining schedule does allow for at least two wins. Still, a loss against Tennessee and the pressure goes up significantly.