Welcome to the Morning Commute
Today we’re yet again talking about NCAA Tournament hoops. Because for the second year in a row, we’ve got skin in the game.
Let me go off on a quick tangent for a second: I really appreciate the job Dennis Gates has done in 4 years at Mizzou. I’ve probably been more critical of this year’s team than any that I know. I have a lot of gripes with the way they play. I think they’ve vastly underperformed what I think they could have been…
And yet they’re in the tournament. Not only that, they’re in without
having to play in the First Four. This after having ended their non-conference schedule with no meaningful wins and two heavy-handed blowout losses to rivals. Back in the dark days of mid-2010’s Mizzou Hoops, this is what I wanted – for the Tigers to always be playing in March. On down years, they’d be seeded lower. In good years, they’d be higher. And that’s how things have been, by and large, under Gates. So kudos to this team. Go make some noise.
Anyway, with Mizzou headed just a few hours east to square off against Miami (FL) in Round One, it’s notable that the Tigers will be faced with some old friends. Charlton Young, aka CY, will find himself sitting on the opposite bench of the Tigers after wearing black and gold for the first three years of Gates tenure at Mizzou.
And while he won’t be there on the court, another old friend will be cheering on the Hurricanes: Marcus Allen, former Mizzou Tiger, will watch from the sidelines. Allen transferred to Miami after last season, but was ruled out for the rest of the season in December after being diagnosed with non-Hodgkins lymphoma. As a reminder, you can donate here to his GoFundMe to support his cancer treatments. Fuck cancer, and fuck a health care system that makes people fund their own life-saving treatments.
Yesterday at Rock M and Rock M+
The last postseason appearance for Mizzou came in 2023 when they reached the second round of the WNIT. This is the Tigers’ first ever appearance in the WBIT, as the tournament started in 2024. The tournament was produced as an alternative to the WNIT sponsored by the NCAA to cut down on costs for the teams with things like travel.
It’s a nice touch to end Harper’s first season as coach… more games means more time to gel!
Quickly the opening odds at FanDuel’s Sportsbook were released and the Tigers are currently a 1.5 point underdog to the higher seeded Hurricanes. The over-under has been set at 150.5.
If you’re looking for reasons to think the Tigers can win the game, they’re playing in a familiar environment, after being slotted in the St. Louis pod. The game will tip off as the last game on Friday night, 9:10 pm Central Time, on TruTV.
Hey, it can’t go any worse than the last time Mizzou played in St. Louis!
I think game one today just took the wind out of the sails a little bit, which is unfortunate,“ Jackson said. What we talk about is it’s doubleheader day, we get it, we understand you can’t get swept in the league. You have to come out, you have to be competitive.”
Next, Mizzou heads west to play kU in the midweek.
- Over at Rock M+, it’s all things NCAA Bracket. Watkins almost nailed it perfectly, and bubble teams were discussed (and lightly mourned.)
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