Razorbacks, Tigers close out regular season
Neither the Arkansas Razorbacks nor Missouri Tigers can win the SEC season’s championship.
Yet, both are far from merely playing out the string in today’s regular season finale, tipping off at 5 p.m. on ESPN2 (Resort Channel 29) from Mizzou Arena in Columbia, Mo.
Both coach Mike Anderson’s Razorbacks (21-9, 10-7 Southeastern Conference), tied for third with Florida (19-11,
10-7) and Kentucky (21-9, 10-7), and coach Cuonzo Martin’s Tigers (19-11, 9-8) aspire to be in the NCAA Tournament and more immediately improve their seeding for next week’s SEC Tournament, which will be held Wednesday through Sunday in St. Louis.
Arkansas has a 65-63 victory over Missouri in hand from Jan. 13 at Bud Walton Arena in Fayetteville and stands in better standing, particularly after beating No. 14 Auburn
(24-6, 12-5), 91-82, Tuesday. The victory avenged a Jan. 6 loss in Auburn, Ala.
Still, the Razorbacks could conceivably stumble toward an NCAA Tournament bubble with consecutive losses to Missouri and in the SEC Tournament. The Tigers might need to go deep into the conference tournament to garner an NCAA bid if they cannot hold serve at home.
“It’s a lot at stake in this particular game,” Anderson said. “It’s a big game in a lot of ways for them and for us as well. What this game represents is an opportunity to go out and put ourselves in pretty good position in terms of seeding for the SEC Tournament.”
Anderson seldom mentions the NCAA Tournament unless asked. He says it is always understood to be the ultimate goal to qualify and advance in the Big Dance. To do that, he says, inevitably hinges on a team playing its best heading into March. He said he sees today’s game as the next step, building off of last week’s 76-73 SEC success at Alabama (17-13, 8-9), 76-73, and Tuesday’s triumph over Auburn.
“It’s an opportunity for us to continue to get better,” Anderson said of this clash in Columbia. “And that’s all I talk about with our guys. ‘Let’s get better!”
Anderson explained his team and Martin’s Tigers are better than when they met five games into the SEC season in Fayetteville.
“I think both have gotten better playing through the rigors of the SEC and on the road,” Anderson said. “They’ve had some guys that they’ve lost, and it’s amazing how sometimes when you have subtraction you have addition. Because you have some guys that step up to the plate.”
Missouri’s biggest loss was an injury to 6-10 Michael Porter two minutes into the season opener. He was cleared to practice and could play against Arkansas.
The Tigers have leaned on graduate transfer Kassius Robertson, junior Jordan Barnett and junior Jordan Geist. Anderson lauded all three and said, “the big kid, (6-10 Mizzou freshman Jeremiah) Tilmon is playing pretty good here lately.”
So is Jontay Porter, Michael’s 6-11 brother, averaging 9.5 points and 6.7 rebounds and adept at shooting threes. Anderson calls Kevin Puryear, formerly a Mizzou starter, “a blue-collar guy” off the bench.
Though still effective with eight rebounds and six assists, Arkansas senior guard Daryl Macon, 18.4 scoring average in 17 SEC games, scored only eight points when the teams last met. It was his second-lowest scoring output of the conference schedule.
Fellow senior scoring guard Jaylen Barford, 18.5 in SEC games, never again has committed six turnovers like he did while scoring 13 against Missouri.