The Tigers begin SEC conference play on Jan. 3 against No. 22 Florida. While their 10-3 record looks impressive on paper, they've been crushed by top-end competition, and lack and sort of quality win. In fact, their resume is so weak, that ESPN's Joe Lunardi has Missouri missing the NCAA Tournament completely.
In order to salvage the season, Mizzou will likely need to win a minimum of 10 games in SEC play, giving them 20+ wins on the year, and presumably, several Quad 1 or 2 victories. So how do we see the rest of the season shaking out?
Jan 3 vs. No. 22 Florida L
Jan 7 at Kentucky L
Jan 10 at Ole Miss W
Jan 14 vs. Auburn W
Jan 17 at LSU L
Jan 20 vs No. 23 Georgia L
Jan 24 vs Oklahoma W
Jan 27 at No. 14 Alabama L
Jan 31 vs. Mississippi State W
Feb 7 at South Carolina W
Feb 11 at Texas A&M W
Feb 14 vs. Texas L
Feb 18 vs. No. 11 Vanderbilt L
Feb 21 at No. 18 Arkansas L
Feb 24 vs. No. 19 Tennessee L
Feb 28 at Mississippi State L
Mar 3 at Oklahoma W
Mar 7 vs. No. 18 Arkansas W
Total record in SEC play: 8-10
Tigers fall flat in SEC play after hot non-conference start
In our prediction, Mizzou goes 8-10 in the SEC, finishing with an 18-13 record, and likely missing the NCAA Tournament.
As it stands right now, the Tigers will face seven ranked teams in conference play. Up to this point, they've played two ranked squads--Kansas and Illinois--and lost each game by 20 and 43 points respectively. That doesn't exactly scream confidence heading to this weekend's game against the No. 22 ranked Gators.
While Mizzou can still win a respectable amount of games this season, it will largely be inflated by the weak non-conference schedule. The Tigers are starting to get healthy though, with the return of Jayden Stone on the horizon, but he might not be enough to save this team's season.