If any team in the country needs a fresh start provided by its conference tournament, it’s the Missouri Tigers.
After going winless in conference play, Missouri will open Southeastern Conference Tournament play tonight against the Georgia Bulldogs in Nashville, Tenn. Game time for the 14th-seeded Tigers (8-23, 0-18 SEC) and 11th-seeded Bulldogs (16-15, 6-12 SEC) is approximately 8:30 p.m. at Bridgestone Arena (SEC Network).
“The season hasn’t gone how I personally wanted it to go,” Missouri coach Dennis Gates said in a press conference Monday. “But the season’s not over.
“It’s going to be a tough matchup for us, but we’re going to go out and give our best.”
Georgia coach Mike White stressed Tuesday the Bulldogs aren’t looking past the Tigers.
“Their record doesn’t represent who they are,” White, who like Gates is in his second season at his school, said. “They’ve been very, very competitive.”
White dismissed any talk of Georgia having additional pressure playing against a team hungry for victory after going winless in conference.
“We’re desperate too, we want to go to the NCAA Tournament,” he said, noting the Bulldogs would have to win five games in five days to earn the conference’s automatic bid.
It will be the second meeting of the season for the Tigers and Bulldogs. They met in the conference opener Jan. 6 at Mizzou Arena, with Georgia using a late 9-0 run to turn a 65-63 deficit into a seven-point lead on its way to a 75-68 victory. That was the ninth in what turned into a 10-game winning streak for the Bulldogs as they improved to 12-3.
Sean East led four Tigers in double figures in that game, finishing with 18 points. Tamar Bates scored 15, while Aidan Shaw had 14 and Noah Carter chipped in with 13.
Georgia also had four players score in double figures, led by Russell Tchewa’s 18. Justin Hill came off the bench to add 16, while Noah Thomasson had 15 and Silas Demary Jr. totaled 10.
Georgia was 15-of-21 at the free-throw line in the win, while Missouri was 6-of-7 from the stripe. Gates said the Tigers have learned how to get to the free-throw line in recent games.
“We’re doing a better job at learning how to draw fouls,” Gates said.
After the double-digit winning streak, Georgia went 4-12 the remainder of the conference season. The Bulldogs have lost four of their last five games, with the win being a 69-66 decision at home against Mississippi last Tuesday.
But everybody is back to 0-0.
“It’s a clean slate for us and for Missouri,” White said.
Gates agrees.
“A new season, it’s wonderful,” he said with a laugh.
The Missouri-Georgia winner advances to take on sixth-seeded Florida (21-10) in the late game Thursday.
Action begins today with 12th-seeded Arkansas (15-16) facing 13th-seeded Vanderbilt (9-22) at 6 p.m.