Mizzou’s Final Regular Season Game Has ‘Implications’ For Tournament Play

Though the No.15-ranked Missouri Tigers practically locked up their second NCAA Tournament bid under coach Dennis Gates a few weeks ago, that hasn’t ruled out their recent losing spell from making an impact on their potential seeding.

Missouri has dropped its last three games on the road against unranked opponents, that being the Arkansas Razorbacks, Vanderbilt Commodores and Oklahoma Sooners. Despite beating all of those teams at home, it became a much different story away from Mizzou Arena.

The expectation for many was that the Tigers would handle the final stretch of the season without any qualms, but those losses have put a dent in the possibility of a double-bye in the SEC Tournament or a No. 4 seed in March Madness. Especially now, their final game of the regular season against the No. 19-ranked Kentucky Wildcats on Saturday will be a crucial one to win.

Not only would Missouri drop further in the standings with a loss, but its momentum heading into tournament play would be a shell of what it has been for the majority of the year.

“It does have implications on Selection Sunday, no matter how you look at it,” Gates said on the matchup. “It’s a tournament game in our eyes, and every game has been that way in the SEC.”

Returning to their home floor is already a big boost for the Tigers — a place it has only lost a single time at this season thanks to a game-winning 3-pointer from Texas A&M Aggies’ guard Wade Taylor IV. The Wildcats are the strongest team they’ve faced since the Alabama Crimson Tide, however, pickign up wins against the likes of the Duke Blue Devils and Tennessee Volunteers.

Both teams will be gunning for a win considering the impact it could make in seeding, making this one of the most important games of the season for Missouri.

“We always want to end the season with wins, regular season or conference season, with wins. There’s no doubt about it, it helps us in our seeding,” Gates said. “Both teams is playing for a matter of I think that six-to-eight range of seeding in conference, because of the simple fact that’s what the tie-breakers will conclude.”

The advantage the Tigers receive at home won’t be in full force in either the SEC or NCAA Tournament, but a win over Kentucky could also help incentive their fans to travel and support their run. It won’t be Mizzou Arena, but at the very least, it’ll make the environment feel more like it.

“What I hope this game does is allow our fans to want to pack up and go on the road with us,” Gates said. “That’s how important they are, and has been to our season. Being able to have our fans here as a reminder of how special they are to building our program, it’s all hands on deck.”