After suffering back-to-back losses last week against Notre Dame and Kansas, Missouri basketball finds themselves in a precarious position. The Tigers rank just 78 in the NET rankings, and ESPN's latest Bracketology paints a dim picture for Mizzou's chances at the NCAA Tournament.
In his latest bracketology, Joe Lunardi has Missouri one of the first four teams OUT of the NCAA Tournament field.
Mizzou faces a long, tough road to make NCAA tourney
Despite boasting an 8-2 record, the Tigers lack a quality resume, and will need multiple wins over Quad 1 opponents in their SEC schedule. Mizzou currently only has Quad 3 and 4 wins so far this season, and has yet to beat an opponent higher than 132 in the NET rankings.
Head coach Dennis Gates has made a name for himself as a top recruiter, securing a top-five class for 2026, but the top-end recruiting has yet to show results on the court. While the records have looked decent, the quality of the wins just hasn't been there yet. The Tigers made the NCAA Tournament last season, but were bounced in round one by the 11-seed Drake Bulldogs.
Now in 2025, Missouri will be the outside looking in unless they get some quality wins during their conference schedule. Headlined by star Mark Mitchell, who is averaging 18.4 points per game, the Tigers have yet to find much help behind him. They'll 15 more opportunities for Quad 1 and 2 games and will likely need to win over half of them to secure a tournament berth.