ozark trout fisher Posted March 3, 2014 Posted March 3, 2014 March is here, and the teams in the SEC just have one week until the conference tournament starts next Wednesday. Just happens that both of the main rooting interests on here (Mizzou and Arkansas) are taking their postseason fates right down to that last week and the SEC tourney. Arkansas is in better shape at the moment. They have a bunch of good wins (Kentucky twice, SMU, Minnesota) and no really terrible losses. Their RPI is still in the 50s though, and that keeps them on the bubble for the time being. They have Ole Miss and @Alabama left on the schedule. If they sweep those two to finish 11-7, 22-9, I think they will have a spot basically locked up before they head to Atlanta. A loss to Ole Miss wouldn't be too damaging, but if ya'll pull a Missouri and lose @Alabama to close the regular season, that will necessitate some kind of a run in the conference tourney. But realistically, the Hogs should be in and just need to avoid doing anything really stupid between now and Selection Sunday. Missouri can't lock up a spot as easily. The senior night game against A&M is a true must. Lose that and the auto-bid becomes the only way. If they can get past the Aggies, the UT game becomes almost like a play-in game for both teams. If MO sweeps those two (and beating Tennessee in Knoxville is a tall order) then they finish 22-9 (10-8) with an RPI that will probably be in the mid-40s. They'd probably be in the NCAA field headed into Atlanta at that point, but would need to avoid a bad early loss to stay there, and another decent win over Arkansas, Kentucky, or Florida to really lock things up beyond a doubt. If they lose @UT to finish 9-9, they aren't eliminated from at-large contention, but they'd probably need to make the tournament finals and beat Kentucky or Florida along the way. So here's the deal-win the last two regular season games, and Missouri probably just needs to avoid a bad conference tournament showing to likely sneak in. Lose @UT, and they need a big run in Atlanta and another big win. Lose both, and they need the auto-bid for sure.
Quillback Posted March 3, 2014 Posted March 3, 2014 I have to think that Mizzou will and should beat A&M. UT will be tough, but winnable. I'm hoping AR wins out and they should. The tourney is really shaping up to be important. I see the good news as that Mizzou and AR still hold their fate in their own hands.
Quillback Posted March 3, 2014 Posted March 3, 2014 AP top 25 just came out. Kentucky hung in there at #25, just the name gets them votes in my opinion. Arkansas is not in the top 25 and did not receive a vote as a matter of fact. I didn't expect them to crack the 25 barrier, but I thought they would at least get a few votes.
moguy1973 Posted March 3, 2014 Posted March 3, 2014 Go SLU! Even with the 2 game losing streak. Got it out of their system now. -- JimIf people concentrated on the really important things in life, there'd be a shortage of fishing poles. -- Doug Larson
BATCAB27 Posted March 4, 2014 Posted March 4, 2014 I think it's pretty simple, the winner of the tenn/mu game is in, the loser is out. Barring a major setback in the conference tournament. And I think Arkansas is in.
ozark trout fisher Posted March 5, 2014 Author Posted March 5, 2014 I think it's pretty simple, the winner of the tenn/mu game is in, the loser is out. Barring a major setback in the conference tournament. And I think Arkansas is in. That's probably true. But I think it's possible both teams could be out if the winner doesn't also have a decent conference tourney. Certainly it's unlikely that there's room for both. A lot of bubble teams are winning right now, which isn't good. Could squeeze out teams like MU and UT, who honestly, have the bare minimum in terms of tourney credentials. And we obviously have to beat A&M too. And let's be real: as much as we'd like it to be otherwise, that's not going to be easy at all. They are an 8-8 team in the SEC, just like us, and beat Tennessee in Knoxville. Mizzou will very likely find themselves in a real battle just to stay alive until the Tennessee game. Arkansas is definitely in right now, but the RPI is still a concern. They need to win one of their two remaining regular season games (which should be quite manageable) and then maybe another in the SEC tournament. If they sweep this week I don't think they'd need any wins in the SEC tournament to stay in.
Quillback Posted March 5, 2014 Posted March 5, 2014 That Mizzou at Tenn. game is shaping up to be an important one for both teams, should be a good one to watch.
snap Posted March 5, 2014 Posted March 5, 2014 I don't feel very good about Mizzou winning on the road!!! Early in the season, maybe, got lucky at ARK and have been bad since (aka the Tide) Out of our hands!!!
ozark trout fisher Posted March 5, 2014 Author Posted March 5, 2014 Planning to be there for senior night tonight. Let's go out with a win, fellas.
BATCAB27 Posted March 6, 2014 Posted March 6, 2014 Planning to be there for senior night tonight. Let's go out with a win, fellas. Just saw the score. How was it OTF? As ugly as I imagine it was?
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