Ten Thoughts for Monday Morning
1) There are two common questions we are getting right now about Missouri basketball. Let's take them in order. First: Will Mizzou be ranked?
Mizzou was 19th and 20th last week in the two major polls. The Tigers went 1-1 with a not very good loss and an okay win. The easiest way to assess this is to look at the teams behind Mizzou in last week's polls.
Tennessee: Beat South Carolina, lost to Kentucky. Similar, but slightly better week than the Tigers. They were one spot ahead of Mizzou in the AP, one behind in the coaches'. They'll remain in similar position.
Wisconsin: Lost to Iowa, beat Northwestern. It's a slightly better week than Missouri had. It could be enough to move them in front of Mizzou.
Loyola-Chicago: Beat Valpo. They'll probably move in front of Mizzou simply because they didn't lose.
Kansas: Beat Kansas State and Texas Tech. Will likely jump ahead of Mizzou.
Arkansas: Beat Florida. Will probably jump the Tigers.
San Diego State: Beat Fresno State twice. Will probably jump the Tigers.
Oklahoma State: Beat Kansas State and Iowa State. Will be close, but could jump Mizzou.
Oregon: Beat Colorado and Utah. Will be close, could jump Mizzou.
If the Tigers are ranked, it's likely 24th or 25th. I think it's more likely they slip out of the polls for the first time in 11 weeks and are one of the first two teams outside the top 25.
2) Where will Missouri be seeded? Missouri is 39th in the NET. The Tigers fell two spots after their 1-1 week last week. Joe Lunardi had Mizzou as a 6 seed prior to the South Carolina game. As of this morning, Jerry Palm has Mizzou as a 4 seed, which I honestly don't really understand at all. That's where the Tigers were--as the last 4 seed--before losing to Arkansas and Georgia. That seems like a mistake to me. If the tournament started today, we'd think Mizzou would be a 6 seed, with a margin of error to go up or down a seed (meaning they could be a 5 or a 7).
A win over Ole Miss would be a Quad 2 win, a win over Texas A&M this week would be a Quad 3 win. Losing the Ole Miss game probably wouldn't kill them, although it could cost them a seed line. Losing to A&M would be devastating (if the game is even played...honestly it's probably better for Mizzou's resume if it isn't). If the Tigers go 2-0, they're probably a 5/6 after this week. If they go 1-1, assuming the loss is to Ole Miss, they're a 6/7. If they manage to lose to A&M, they're getting very close to that 8/9 line that you want to avoid.
3) What about the SEC standings? Here's what they look like right now:
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