Missouri will head to South Carolina to take on the floundering Gamecocks on Saturday, and it'll be their first must-win game of the season.
Up to this point, no one game would've really won or lost their season, but a loss to the 11-12 Gamecocks would be a devastating blow to Mizzou's tournament chances. South Carolina is just 2-8 in conference play and ranks 105 in the NET.
Meanwhile, the Tigers sit at 68 in the NET rankings, and likely still need to climb into the 40-50 range to feel comfortable about securing a spot in the Big Dance. They're currently projected as one of the next four teams out in ESPN's latest bracketology.
It wasn't a game circled on the calender for Missouri but it is now
A loss to South Carolina would plummet the Tigers to just 1-4 in Quad 2 games, and would likely drop them in the NET rankings to somewhere in the seventies. That would leave just eight games, four of which are against ranked opponents to try and claw their way back to bubble spot. Not ideal.
Missouri already faces a difficult climb, and frankly a loss to South Carolina probably all but shuts the door on an NCAA Tournament appearance, barring an epic six or seven game win streak to end the season. Still, despite Missouri recent struggles in Columbia, SC, there's really no reason the Tigers shouldn't come away with a win.
Missouri is currently just a one-point favorite, which seems concerning, but the Gamecocks are a combined 1-12 in Quad 1 and 2 games, and it feels like Mizzou would really have to screw things up to lose this one. Let's be honest, though, that shouldn't be completely ruled out as the Tigers are just 2-6 this season away from Mizzou Arena.