Mizzou Basketball was hosed in NCAA Tournament seeding

After an impressive resumé, Mizzou basketball was not rewarded in the NCAA Tournament. 

The Missouri Tigers accomplished a lot in the 2020-2021 college basketball season. They finished with a 16-9 record, but they found themselves in the top 10 throughout the season and took down some quality opponents during their run.

They had wins against No. 6 Illinois, No. 6 Tennessee, and No. 10 Alabama, but losing to Ole Miss the way they did then led to a downward spiral. They went 3-6 in their final nine games and fizzled out, which is probably why they got a not-so-glamorous seeding in the tournament.

The team was hard to figure out, but they definitely deserved better than what they got in this year’s March Madness extravaganza. It was disappointing to see Mizzou as a No. 9 seed entering the tournament. Nine-seeds square off against eight-seeds in the first round and those are always such a toss-up as far as who will win.

To make matters worse, if Missouri is able to advance to the next round of the tournament, they’ll be “rewarded” for it by having to face unbeaten Gonzaga, who are the No. 1 overall seed in the big dance. Yeah, Mizzou is in the same region as the Zags, who are out to prove they’re worthy of the top seed in the tourney.

Getting to that game is no guarantee, however, as Missouri has to get past their first-round foe. They’ll face the No. 8 seed Oklahoma Sooners in round one, reviving an old rivalry from MU’s days in the Big 12. Being a nine-seed isn’t very exciting because of how much of a toss-up these mid-seed games tend to be. Oklahoma is a feisty group and could take it to the Tigers if they find themselves playing how they did against Ole Miss last month.

Mizzou basketball is going to have a tough time making any kind of noise in the NCAA Tournament.

Don’t get me wrong — This season was a successful one for the Missouri Tigers. Mizzou basketball didn’t look great the past few years, but the 2020-2021 season showed that Cuonzo Martin has this program on the right track, so even if they bow out of the tournament early, there’s nothing for this squad to be ashamed of.

The seeding for the Tigers is unfortunate and it definitely feels like they were hosed here. They’re in the same region as the No. 1 overall seed and should have been ranked higher than a nine-seed.

But hey, after where the country was a year ago, simply having March Madness is a huge win for everyone. Let’s sit back, relax, and hope that Mizzou basketball can pull off their first-round victory and then get some magic flowing for that Gonzaga game. Crazier things have happened after all!