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We’re inching closer to watching Missouri Basketball in the NCAA Tournament again as Mizzou and Miami (FL) will tip-off late Friday night in St. Louis — the last scheduled game to start in the first round.
Making the NCAA Tournament is becoming a regular occurrence under Dennis Gates as Missouri has now made it back-to-back years and three out of the last four seasons. The next step for this program is finding success in the postseason — and that opportunity starts on Friday night with a Mizzou-heavy crowd at the Enterprise Center. Can the Tigers take advantage of this situation?
Per the FanDuel odds — No. 7 seed Miami (FL) comes in as 1.5-point favorites over 10-seeded Mizzou in the West Region first round.
Missouri has shown they can beat anybody in the country with wins over Florida, Tennessee, Kentucky, Vanderbilt, and Texas A&M, but their inconsistencies throughout the season have provided good reason why they’re the underdog in this one. Meanwhile, Miami (FL) put together a more complete season in Year One under Jai Lucas going 23-8 (13-5 ACC) — earning a spot in the latest AP Top 25 poll at No. 25.