There were a few noteworthy things that happened this week.
1. Mizzou Director of Athletics Desiree Reed-Francois announced she’s leaving to become the AD at Arizona. I don’t have any new info here. I think @GabeD’s done an excellent job reporting all the details on this story. I’ve had a couple of interactions with Reed-Francois, all positive. Earlier this season, I ran into her on the court before the Border War. She was wearing some Mizzou gold Air Jordan 1s and I told her they looked cool.
“I’ve been ready for this game,” she said.
A few weeks ago at the Vanderbilt game, she saw that Gabe and I were sitting up in the crow’s nest at Memorial Gym and invited us to come sit with her closer to the floor in the second half. She was standing when we got there and I took an end seat on the second row, thinking I’d stay out of everyone’s way. But it ended up being the seat right next to hers.
“You’ll have to excuse me,” she said once she sat down, “I get pretty loud during games.”
I think athletic directors’ relationship with the media in general is a unique one. They’re not like coaches or players where you see or talk to them every day, even if you’re a beat writer. But they’re also, obviously, really important figures at the school.
When I covered Texas State at my last job, the athletic director who was first in charge during my time there barely acknowledged my existence. And I understood it to a degree. They’re busy people, they don’t necessarily have time to get to know us and answer a bunch of questions outside of a press conference. Being on good terms with the media does not equate to being a good AD.
But it does make a reporter’s job easier when they do take the time to establish that relationship. Desiree did and it’s something I’ve appreciated about her while I’ve been here.
As for what it means for the Tigers’ men’s basketball team, as Gabe already wrote, Dennis Gates’ leash is probably a little bit shorter. But that would’ve been the case with just about any coach in the country going into their third year whose school is bringing in a new AD. There’s nothing you can do to shed the “somebody else’s hire” label aside from producing results on the court. That’s what Gates will have to do to get the leash extended again.
2. Mizzou lost to Ole Miss and Tennessee by a combined eight points. Sean East II was awesome coming back from injury, but the Tigers’ margin for error is still minuscule.
It’s like we’ve been saying all season, the team plays to the level just below its competition. But again, the team’s got heart. It’s like nobody’s told them they’re 0-13 in SEC play. They didn’t look like a last-place team this week.
There are five games left in the season and three of them are against bottom-six teams in the conference. I don’t think a win or two is completely out of the question if Missouri can keep giving the kind of effort it did against the Volunteers.
3. Gates dropped an F-bomb. I think he’s the type of person who only uses that word when he really means it. And he used it in reference to his team’s inability to get to the free throw line. As I wrote in my story after Tuesday’s game, has a free throw rate of 29.6% this year, which ranks 273rd in the country according to KenPom. That number’s ticked up to 32.4% in conference play, which ranks 10th in the league but is still half a percent below the national average.
I don’t think using an expletive is going to magically change that. But I do think it shows it’s one of the biggest gripes Gates has about his team and will probably target when he goes fishing for transfers in the portal this offseason.
4. The school announced that Trent Pierce had a procedure on his ear and should be able to return to practice soon.
And, man, that tells you everything you need to know about how awful Mizzou’s injury luck has been this year. The basketball gods have been ruthless. It’s really too bad for Pierce, too, because his fellow freshmen, Jordan Butler and Anthony Robinson II, have both seen a bump in minutes in this second half of SEC play. Pierce was probably due for one, too.
Hopefully he’ll be able to return before the year is up. He’s somehow played 104 minutes across 16 appearances this season and I hardly remember him being out there. He just needs more action under his belt.
5. It’s my birthday today. It was Tamar Bates' birthday yesterday and I was taken aback realizing I'm seven years older than him. I keep forgetting he's a true junior and that I've been out of college for six years. I think I’ll officially be half my mother’s age in October. Birthdays are not my favorite thing, I’ve had some not-so-great ones, so let’s keep it moving.
There are two-ish weeks left in the regular season. Let’s run through the SEC teams that are in contention to make the NCAA tournament.
Tennessee (20-6, 10-3 SEC)
Bracket Matrix average seed: 2.00
Gates wasn’t lying when he said the Volunteers are playing to earn a No. 1 seed. The team could use some help from the four schools currently taking the top spots — Purdue, UConn, Houston and Arizona — to make the leap up. The Volunteers need more results like the Boilermakers' upset loss to Ohio State.
Alabama (19-7, 11-2)
Bracket Matrix average seed: 2.94
The Crimson Tide are going to get dinged for their non-conference record, but they seem to be a completely different team now. I wouldn’t bet on this version of Alabama losing to the current version of the Buckeyes on a neutral floor again, like it did on Nov. 24. Five of the team’s seven losses have come away from home against opponents in the top 11 of KenPom’s adjusted efficiency margin. You have to be the best of the best to beat this squad.
Auburn (20-6, 9-4)
Bracket Matrix average seed: 3.99
The Tigers have the potential to move up the ladder with one of the easier remaining schedules in the conference. Assuming the team can take care of business in a two-game series against Georgia, a home game against Mississippi State and a road game at Missouri, Auburn should fall somewhere along the low 3-seed/high 4-seed line. A road win over Tennessee would boost its resume even more.
Kentucky (18-8, 8-5)
Bracket Matrix average seed: 5.42
The Wildcats have been hot and cold all throughout conference play, especially on the defensive end. Their buzzer-beater loss to LSU on Wednesday doesn’t bode especially well at this point of the year. The team still has some tough matchups left on its slate, too, going up against Bama at home and Tennessee on the road, and could be at risk of sliding to a No. 6 seed if it can’t come out with some big wins down the stretch.
South Carolina (21-5, 9-4)
Bracket Matrix average seed: 6.91
The Gamecocks have taken a bit of a tumble recently but still remain in the group of No. 6 seeds. Like Kentucky, they’re entering one of the tougher parts of their schedule and could slip to one of the dreaded 7/10 or 8/9 splits. Still, even in the event that the team loses out the regular season, South Carolina’s likely done enough to punch its ticket — a shocking feat given it was voted to finish last in the preseason SEC poll.
Florida (18-8, 8-5)
Bracket Matrix average seed: 7.04
The Gators have bounced back from their 1-3 start to league play in a major way, winning seven of their last nine, including a home victory over Auburn and a one-point road loss to Texas A&M. All but one of their losses have come away from home and they’re set to play in Gainesville three more times. Florida’s probably a lock to get in.
Mississippi State (18-8, 7-6)
Bracket Matrix average seed: 9.86
The Bulldogs have taken advantage of a handful of easier matchups lately, going on a four-game winning streak to get back above .500 in conference play after going 3-6 throughout the first half. Still, there’s work to be done for the Bulldogs to remain in the Big Dance, as another skid could put the Bulldogs at risk of becoming a play-in team for the second year in a row.
Texas A&M (15-11, 6-7)
Bracket Matrix average seed: 10.24
What do you make of the Aggies? They seemed to be back on track with a trio of wins against Florida, Mizzou and Tennessee. Then they fell off again with losses to Vanderbilt, Alabama and Arkansas. Texas A&M is far from a guarantee to make the tournament at the moment. The team likely needs to finish as close as it can to .500 in SEC play and maybe earn a win or two in the conference tournament to keep its spot.
Ole Miss (19-7, 6-7)
Bracket Matrix average seed: 10.80
The Rebels seemed like a certainty to make it to the Big Dance three weeks ago but have since dropped four games and nearly lost a fifth, just barely edging out Missouri, 79-76. KenPom projects Ole Miss to win three more games to end the season, none of them by more than four points. As a team that’s cutting it close, there’s a chance the Rebels’s NCAA tournament hopes will end up being decided in the SEC tournament.
1. Mizzou Director of Athletics Desiree Reed-Francois announced she’s leaving to become the AD at Arizona. I don’t have any new info here. I think @GabeD’s done an excellent job reporting all the details on this story. I’ve had a couple of interactions with Reed-Francois, all positive. Earlier this season, I ran into her on the court before the Border War. She was wearing some Mizzou gold Air Jordan 1s and I told her they looked cool.
“I’ve been ready for this game,” she said.
A few weeks ago at the Vanderbilt game, she saw that Gabe and I were sitting up in the crow’s nest at Memorial Gym and invited us to come sit with her closer to the floor in the second half. She was standing when we got there and I took an end seat on the second row, thinking I’d stay out of everyone’s way. But it ended up being the seat right next to hers.
“You’ll have to excuse me,” she said once she sat down, “I get pretty loud during games.”
I think athletic directors’ relationship with the media in general is a unique one. They’re not like coaches or players where you see or talk to them every day, even if you’re a beat writer. But they’re also, obviously, really important figures at the school.
When I covered Texas State at my last job, the athletic director who was first in charge during my time there barely acknowledged my existence. And I understood it to a degree. They’re busy people, they don’t necessarily have time to get to know us and answer a bunch of questions outside of a press conference. Being on good terms with the media does not equate to being a good AD.
But it does make a reporter’s job easier when they do take the time to establish that relationship. Desiree did and it’s something I’ve appreciated about her while I’ve been here.
As for what it means for the Tigers’ men’s basketball team, as Gabe already wrote, Dennis Gates’ leash is probably a little bit shorter. But that would’ve been the case with just about any coach in the country going into their third year whose school is bringing in a new AD. There’s nothing you can do to shed the “somebody else’s hire” label aside from producing results on the court. That’s what Gates will have to do to get the leash extended again.
2. Mizzou lost to Ole Miss and Tennessee by a combined eight points. Sean East II was awesome coming back from injury, but the Tigers’ margin for error is still minuscule.
It’s like we’ve been saying all season, the team plays to the level just below its competition. But again, the team’s got heart. It’s like nobody’s told them they’re 0-13 in SEC play. They didn’t look like a last-place team this week.
There are five games left in the season and three of them are against bottom-six teams in the conference. I don’t think a win or two is completely out of the question if Missouri can keep giving the kind of effort it did against the Volunteers.
3. Gates dropped an F-bomb. I think he’s the type of person who only uses that word when he really means it. And he used it in reference to his team’s inability to get to the free throw line. As I wrote in my story after Tuesday’s game, has a free throw rate of 29.6% this year, which ranks 273rd in the country according to KenPom. That number’s ticked up to 32.4% in conference play, which ranks 10th in the league but is still half a percent below the national average.
I don’t think using an expletive is going to magically change that. But I do think it shows it’s one of the biggest gripes Gates has about his team and will probably target when he goes fishing for transfers in the portal this offseason.
4. The school announced that Trent Pierce had a procedure on his ear and should be able to return to practice soon.
And, man, that tells you everything you need to know about how awful Mizzou’s injury luck has been this year. The basketball gods have been ruthless. It’s really too bad for Pierce, too, because his fellow freshmen, Jordan Butler and Anthony Robinson II, have both seen a bump in minutes in this second half of SEC play. Pierce was probably due for one, too.
Hopefully he’ll be able to return before the year is up. He’s somehow played 104 minutes across 16 appearances this season and I hardly remember him being out there. He just needs more action under his belt.
5. It’s my birthday today. It was Tamar Bates' birthday yesterday and I was taken aback realizing I'm seven years older than him. I keep forgetting he's a true junior and that I've been out of college for six years. I think I’ll officially be half my mother’s age in October. Birthdays are not my favorite thing, I’ve had some not-so-great ones, so let’s keep it moving.
There are two-ish weeks left in the regular season. Let’s run through the SEC teams that are in contention to make the NCAA tournament.
Tennessee (20-6, 10-3 SEC)
Bracket Matrix average seed: 2.00
Gates wasn’t lying when he said the Volunteers are playing to earn a No. 1 seed. The team could use some help from the four schools currently taking the top spots — Purdue, UConn, Houston and Arizona — to make the leap up. The Volunteers need more results like the Boilermakers' upset loss to Ohio State.
Alabama (19-7, 11-2)
Bracket Matrix average seed: 2.94
The Crimson Tide are going to get dinged for their non-conference record, but they seem to be a completely different team now. I wouldn’t bet on this version of Alabama losing to the current version of the Buckeyes on a neutral floor again, like it did on Nov. 24. Five of the team’s seven losses have come away from home against opponents in the top 11 of KenPom’s adjusted efficiency margin. You have to be the best of the best to beat this squad.
Auburn (20-6, 9-4)
Bracket Matrix average seed: 3.99
The Tigers have the potential to move up the ladder with one of the easier remaining schedules in the conference. Assuming the team can take care of business in a two-game series against Georgia, a home game against Mississippi State and a road game at Missouri, Auburn should fall somewhere along the low 3-seed/high 4-seed line. A road win over Tennessee would boost its resume even more.
Kentucky (18-8, 8-5)
Bracket Matrix average seed: 5.42
The Wildcats have been hot and cold all throughout conference play, especially on the defensive end. Their buzzer-beater loss to LSU on Wednesday doesn’t bode especially well at this point of the year. The team still has some tough matchups left on its slate, too, going up against Bama at home and Tennessee on the road, and could be at risk of sliding to a No. 6 seed if it can’t come out with some big wins down the stretch.
South Carolina (21-5, 9-4)
Bracket Matrix average seed: 6.91
The Gamecocks have taken a bit of a tumble recently but still remain in the group of No. 6 seeds. Like Kentucky, they’re entering one of the tougher parts of their schedule and could slip to one of the dreaded 7/10 or 8/9 splits. Still, even in the event that the team loses out the regular season, South Carolina’s likely done enough to punch its ticket — a shocking feat given it was voted to finish last in the preseason SEC poll.
Florida (18-8, 8-5)
Bracket Matrix average seed: 7.04
The Gators have bounced back from their 1-3 start to league play in a major way, winning seven of their last nine, including a home victory over Auburn and a one-point road loss to Texas A&M. All but one of their losses have come away from home and they’re set to play in Gainesville three more times. Florida’s probably a lock to get in.
Mississippi State (18-8, 7-6)
Bracket Matrix average seed: 9.86
The Bulldogs have taken advantage of a handful of easier matchups lately, going on a four-game winning streak to get back above .500 in conference play after going 3-6 throughout the first half. Still, there’s work to be done for the Bulldogs to remain in the Big Dance, as another skid could put the Bulldogs at risk of becoming a play-in team for the second year in a row.
Texas A&M (15-11, 6-7)
Bracket Matrix average seed: 10.24
What do you make of the Aggies? They seemed to be back on track with a trio of wins against Florida, Mizzou and Tennessee. Then they fell off again with losses to Vanderbilt, Alabama and Arkansas. Texas A&M is far from a guarantee to make the tournament at the moment. The team likely needs to finish as close as it can to .500 in SEC play and maybe earn a win or two in the conference tournament to keep its spot.
Ole Miss (19-7, 6-7)
Bracket Matrix average seed: 10.80
The Rebels seemed like a certainty to make it to the Big Dance three weeks ago but have since dropped four games and nearly lost a fifth, just barely edging out Missouri, 79-76. KenPom projects Ole Miss to win three more games to end the season, none of them by more than four points. As a team that’s cutting it close, there’s a chance the Rebels’s NCAA tournament hopes will end up being decided in the SEC tournament.
