Selection Sunday has come and gone, and the Tigers have earned a No. 10 seed in the East Region of the NCAA Tournament. MU is set to play No. 7 seed Clemson on Friday in Buffalo, N.Y.
The Tigers (22-10) are one of seven Big 12 teams in the field, making their second straight appearance in the tournament. Friday’s tipoff time against Clemson (21-10) is scheduled for 1:45 p.m.
The process NCAA administrators go through to select teams for the tournament is known to be a tedious one. According to a previous Missourian story, “The job starts with choosing the 34 most qualified “at-large” teams — teams that didn’t win their conference tournaments — to join the 31 teams that automatically qualify because they won their conference tournaments … Then, the committee assigns each team a ranking from one to 65.”
MU was eliminated from the Big 12 Tournament on March 10 after a loss to Nebraska. The Tigers won the tournament last year. The team also lost forward Justin Safford to a knee injury in February, which has hindered its performance in the second half of the season.
Other factors, such as strength of regular season schedule and quality of games against ranked teams, are taken into consideration when NCAA officials are placing teams in the tournament bracket.
In 2009, the Tigers were selected as a No. 3 seed in the tournament and made it to the Elite Eight, where they lost to Connecticut 82-75. Although this year’s team is younger and isn’t expected to go as deep into the tournament, there remains much debate about the No. 10 seeding.
Do you think the Tigers deserve a No. 10 seed in the NCAA Tournament? Are bracket seeds an accurate barometer of teams and how far they will advance in the tournament?