Mizzou Central

Mizzou Basketball Remain on the Right Side of the Bubble: The Buzz

Entering conference play, the Tigers are projected in the 68 -team field with an at-large bid
Brady Shanahan|
Jan 3, 2026; Columbia, Missouri, USA; Missouri Tigers center Trent Burns (7) celebrates his last-second shot at the end of the first half at Mizzou Arena.
Jan 3, 2026; Columbia, Missouri, USA; Missouri Tigers center Trent Burns (7) celebrates his last-second shot at the end of the first half at Mizzou Arena. | Sam Simon/MissouriOnSI

Missouri remains on the right side of the bubble in the projected NCAA Tournament field. ESPN's expert bracketologist, Joe Lunardi, lists the Tigers as one of the last four byes in the tournament.

Despite dropping its last two regular-season contests against both Oklahoma and an overtime heartbreaker to Arkansas, Missouri remains semi-comfortably within the field. The Tigers received plenty of help from fellow bubble teams this past weekend, with nearly all of Lunardi's teams on the outside looking in, each suffering defeats across the country.

Bar a mass of bid stealers and a disastrous SEC Tournament showing, Missouri should be dancing in a week and a half. What seed the Tigers see when and if they hear their name called on Selection Sunday can still fluctuate significantly. Winning four games in four days would lock in an auto bid to the big dance, but a win or two would likely all but secure a spot as well.

Missouri's seed for the conference tournament, however, is no mystery. Despite having a shot at the double-bye and a top-4 seed in the SEC just a week ago, the Tigers dropped to the 8th seed and are set to face the winner of No. 9 Kentucky or No. 16 LSU in the second round of the tournament at 12:30 p.m. ET on Thursday.

The Buzz: March 10

  • Missouri gymnastics remains at the No. 7 position in the latest Road to Nationals team rankings, maintaining its same position as last week.
  • Missouri's Tyler Macon was highlighted as one of the league's best players across the past week. Across 19 plate appearances, he totaled six hits, including 4 doubles. Macon walked seven times and did not strike out once.

Monday's Mizzou Results

Swim and Dive: Day One of NCAA Zone D Diving Championships in College Station, Texas

Softball: Lost to No. 5/8 Florida 2-5 - RECAP

Tuesday's Mizzou Schedule

Swim and Dive: Day Two of NCAA Zone D Diving Championships in College Station, Texas

Baseball: vs. Southern Indiana at 1 p.m. at Taylor Stadium on the SEC Network + - WATCH, LISTEN, STATS

Countdown to Mizzou Football's 2026 season opener...

177 Days

Mizzou Quote of the Day:

“You get the ball in your hands every single time,” he said. “You touch the ball every snap, and you have control of the game. If you don’t play well, your team’s probably going to lose. That’s really every level. High school, college, NFL, it runs through the quarterback. If you don’t have a quarterback, you’re a little bit screwed.”
Chase Daniel

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Brady Shanahan
BRADY SHANAHAN

Brady Shanahan is a journalism student at the University of Missouri, and covers baseball and softball for Missouri Tigers On SI. He's from the St. Louis area and has contributed to The Maneater student newspaper, Columbia Missourian, KOMU 8, and KCOU as a beat reporter.

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