Had Missouri beaten Arkansas this weekend, they likely would have landed the No. 4 seed in the SEC Tournament, earning a double-bye. And while it's easy to dwell on what could have been, the bracket actually still lined up fairly well for the Tigers.
As the No. 8 seed, Mizzou's first matchup will come against the winner of LSU and Kentucky. While LSU actually beat the Tigers earlier in the season, they went on to lose 11 of their last 13 games immediately after. So should LSU somehow shock the Wildcats, there's a lot belief Mizzou would be heavily favored.
Kentucky already fell to Mizzou this year, and is another team that has had the wheels fall off a bit. At 19-12 overall, the Wildcats have lost five of their last seven, and don't enter the tournament with much momentum.
Is Mizzou primed for another upset of Florida?
Assuming Missouri can take care of business against either LSU or Kentucky, they'll earn a rematch with Florida. Since losing to Missouri, the Gators are 17-1, and are one of the hottest teams in the country. So while it's obviously not an ideal matchup, Mizzou is one of the five teams to take down Florida this year, so maybe Dennis Gates has the recipe.
Ultimately it seems likely that Missouri goes either 0-1, with a loss to Kentucky, or 1-1 with a win and then a loss against Florida. Losing three straight, or even winning one of their last four, aren't great ways to enter the NCAA Tournament, but momentum and peaking conversations aside, the Tigers still do have one key element going for them.
Missouri is still relatively healthy, and can expect to be at mostly full strength. Jevon Porter seems unlikely to come back at this point, and Annor Boateng is done for the year for sure, but player like Trent Burns and T.O. Barrett have stepped up down the stretch.
Missouri will play the winner of Kentucky vs. LSU at 11:30 a.m. Thursday.