The SEC Tournament kicks off tomorrow, with Missouri seeing their first action on Thursday. At the 8-seed, the Tigers will take on the winner of the LSU-Kentucky matchup, but even with the bye, Vegas oddsmakers are very down on the Tigers to win the tournament.
According to FanDuel, Mizzou is sitting at +10000 odds, or tied for ninth best with Texas. Ahead of them lies Florida, Arkansas, Alabama, Vanderbilt, Tennessee, Georgia, Kentucky and Texas A&M. Of those eight teams, the Tigers have already beaten five in the regular season, but still face a long and difficult path to win the SEC Tourney.
After recent skid, Missouri will be a huge longshot entering the SEC Tournament
Despite wins over most of the top dogs in the SEC, Missouri has entered the tournament in a bit of a slump with losses to Oklahoma and Arkansas. Vegas seems to have noticed, and has given the Tigers essentially no shot at cutting down the nets. Despite being the 8-seed, their odds to win are ninth-best, and the Tigers haven't instilled much confidence in Vegas, or the fans, as of late. Part of their poor odds also likely lies with how the bracket falls.
Should Mizzou beat either LSU or Kentucky, they'll be rewarded with a date with No. 1-seeded Florida. And while Missouri already took down the Gators once this season, doing it twice might be too big of an ask. The Gators are winners of 17 of their last 18, and are the overwhelming favorite to win the SEC Tourney at -180 odds.
Still, as long as Missouri wins at least one game, their spot in the NCAA Tournament is secure. Even if they get bounced immediately, they are still likely in, but moves from Santa Clara or Indiana could throw a wrench into that scenario.