Mizzou Men’s And Women’s Basketball Make 2018 NCAA Tournament

Ryan
2196 days ago.
The Missouri Tigers and Florida Gators tip off in a men's basketball game on January 6, 2018 at Mizzou Arena in Columbia, Missouri.

Missouri Sends Both Basketball Teams To NCAA Tournament For First Time Since 2001

For the first time since 2001, Mizzou is sending both its men’s and women’s basketball teams to the NCAA Tournament this week. The University of Missouri is one of only 11 schools in the country to send its football team to a bowl game and its men’s and women’s basketball teams to the NCAA Tournament this year.

Michael Porter Jr. and the Mizzou men will open tournament play on Friday evening against Florida State.

Sophie Cunningham and the Mizzou women will take on Florida Gulf Coast Saturday afternoon in their tournament opener.

The Mizzou men's and women's basketball teams have both earned bids to the 2018 NCAA Tournament.
The Mizzou men’s and women’s basketball teams have both earned bids to the 2018 NCAA Tournament.

The Missouri men are 20-12 entering the NCAA Tournament in Cuonzo Martin’s first season at the helm.

The Tigers will face Florida State (20-11) on Friday night in their tournament opener. The game is scheduled to tip off at 8:50 PM CT and will be the last game of the evening at Bridgestone Arena in Nashville.

The Seminoles are led by Terance Mann and his 1.23 points per game. The junior guard hasn’t scored more than 13 points in a game since January, however.

Seniors Phil Cofer and Braian Angola also average right around 13 points per game for Florida State.

For a preview of Friday’s contest, check out ESPN. Friday night’s game can be seen on TBS.

Mizzou Women Look To Regroup For Tourney Run

The University of Missouri women’s basketball team started this season with the goal of hosting NCAA tournament games. On the women’s side, the top 16 teams in the NCAA Tournament have the honor of hosting first and second round games.

Until the last weekend of the regular season that goal looked like it would be realized. After a 19-point loss at Texas A&M to end the regular season, coach Robin Pingeton’s team bounced back to get the program’s first SEC Tournament win before falling to Georgia in the team’s second game.

The Mizzou women's basketball team will take on Florida Gulf Coast on Saturday afternoon in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. (Image/Mizzou Athletics)
The Mizzou women’s basketball team will take on Florida Gulf Coast on Saturday afternoon in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. (Image/Mizzou Athletics)

The Missouri women’s basketball team ended the regular season  ranked 17th in the AP Top 25 and 15th in the USA Today Coaches Poll. The Georgia Bulldogs instead earned a hosting spot.

Missouri Junior Sophie Cunningham was again selected to the All-SEC First Team after averaging 18 points a game during the regular season while playing more than 32 minutes a night.

Senior Jordan Frericks missed all of last season after tearing her ACL. She has been a huge asset for Pingeton this season, averaging 12 points and 7.5 rebounds per game. Junior Cierra Porter has also average almost a double-double per game with 9.9 points and 7.7 rebounds on average each night.

Missouri will take on Florida Gulf Coast on Saturday afternoon in Stanford, California. Tip-off for that contest is scheduled for 2:30 PM CT.

The Missouri women's basketball team recently shared this infographic breaking down on unique Sophie Cunningham's shooting success has been this season. (Image/Mizzou Athletics)
The Missouri women’s basketball team recently shared this infographic breaking down on unique Sophie Cunningham’s shooting success has been this season. (Image/Mizzou Athletics)

The Eagles are 30-4 on the season and bring a 10-game winning streak into the tournament.

Rosemarie Julian leads the Eagles in scoring with 13.4 points per game.

FGC has shot 1,126 three-pointers this season and made 407, or 36.1% . Missouri is no slouch from behind the arc, shooting 37% as a team, but the Tigers have taken a measly 643 three-pointers on the season.

If the Eagles have the hot hand from three, games end up like their recent 105-55 win over Lipscomb in the semifinals of the conference tournament. FGC was 22-of-44 from behind the arc. China Dow, normally a 41% shooter, was 8-10 in the game and scored 30 points.

Saturday’s game can be seen on ESPN2.

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Ryan

Ryan is a weird dude. He doesn't cook, yet owns a plethora of kitchen gadgets. He rationalized buying a SodaStream while unemployed. He counts Step Up 2: The Streets as one of his favorite movies along with Footloose, Rent, Grease and Paul Blart: Mall Cop. He loves Mizzou but only wants them in the SEC so he can tailgate in Nashville. He owns a ShakeWeight and AbLounger, but still loves him some John Donut and Billie's Fine Foods. You can get more of Ryan at iLoveSoulard.com or just check the stool on the far end of the bar at iTap in Soulard.

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