Missouri Tumbles to the Bubble

KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- The Big 12 Tournament began Wednesday with the assumption seven teams were already in the NCAA tournament with not a bubble possibility in sight.

How quickly things can change.

The Big 12, which considered itself the top conference in college basketball, may have been dealt a blow during the opening round of its tournament when fifth-seeded Missouri got upset by last-place Nebraska, 75-60, at the Sprint Center. The Tigers were already on thin ice with a No. 39 RPI ranking -- the lowest of the top seven in the Big 12 -- but after becoming just the second fifth seed to lose to a 12th seed in the Big 12 Tournament, they might have to spend the rest of the week praying there aren't many major upsets in other conference title games.

"I always say if you win games, all of those things will take care of itself," said Missouri coach Mike Anderson, whose team dropped to 22-10. "We are in the No.1 RPI conference, we finished fifth, one game out of finishing second. I think we will be fine."

The NCAA tournament selection committee could easily have another opinion after watching tape of the Tigers' latest collapse. Playing their high-risk, high-reward pressing defense, the Tigers were undone by Nebraska's ability to out hustle them, find open players through back doors and also hit big 3-pointers.

The Cornhuskers (15-17) converted 8 of 14 from 3-point range and converted nearly 56 percent of their shots from the field. Guard Brandon Richardson delivered the biggest blow when he fired a 3-point shot, was fouled and then made the and-one penalty free throw to break a 6:19 scoring drought and spirited comeback attempt by Missouri with 3:36 remaining.

"That came at a stretch where we were struggling offensively," said Nebraska coach Doc Sadler, whose team takes on No.4 seed Texas A&M during Thursday's quarterfinals round. "With over eight minutes to go, I used two timeouts to tell our guys to continue to be aggressive.

"At that particular point, they had cut it to one (point). I'm not very smart but that was probably a very big play."

Missouri, meanwhile, struggled to find any offense while shooting 34 percent from the field. The Tigers' trio of guards, J.T. Tiller, Zaire Taylor and Kim English combined to convert just 7 of 33 shots from the field. One of their best offensive weapons, 6-foot-8 forward Justin Safford, has been sidelined since Feb. 24 with a torn ACL.

His scoring and ability to rebound were sorely missed by the Tigers. They were outrebounded by the hustling Cornhuskers 38-22.

"I think it's very apparent now that we miss a guy like Justin Safford," said Anderson, whose team won the Big 12 Tournament last year. "There is no question about it, because the rotation has kind of changed. Zaire Taylor, Kim English, we count on those guys to knock shots for us and for some reason they haven't. Hopefully with a little time and maybe a little rest, maybe those guys can find their rhythm and their groove."


GAME BALL GOES TO:

Nebraska guard Ryan Anderson came up with several big baskets that helped keep the Tigers reeling Wednesday. He finished with 16 points, on 6 of 8 shooting from the field and 2 of 2 shooting from 3-point range while also coming up with nine rebounds and three assists for the Cornhuskers.


HEART GOES OUT TO:

Missouri sophomore forward Laurence Bowers, seemed like the only Tiger who showed up ready to play. Bowers converted 5 of 8 from the field for a team-high 11 points while also grabbing six rebounds. He was the only Tiger to score in double figures.


KEY ELEMENT:

After struggling on the boards in their two previous meetings, Nebraska outrebounded Missouri 38-22. Anderson led the way with nine rebounds, but Lance Jeter and Richardson both contributed seven apiece against a smaller Tigers team.


WHERE TO FROM HERE:

Short of winning the Big 12 tournament, the Cornhuskers go home when their playing stint is up. They will likely lose against Texas A&M, although they are scrappy enough to give A&M some trouble like they did during the regular season meeting.

Missouri, meanwhile, may have played its way onto the NCAA Tournament bubble with its first round loss to the league's last-place team. Missouri, the defending Big 12 Tournament champion, needed at least one win to improve its No. 39 RPI ranking. The Tigers will likely drop into the 40s which is murky water for at-large teams. The NIT could come calling Sunday.


WHO'S GOT NEXT?

By upsetting Missouri, Nebraska has now earned the right to face fourth-seed Texas A&M during Thursday's quarterfinal round of the Big 12 Tournament. The Aggies have been one of the most dangerous teams in the Big 12 all season long and could end up in the tournament title game if they get hot. They defeated Nebraska 64-53 when the two met in College Station in early January.


SOUNDBITE

"We've got to win and that's the only chance we've got. So if we are not going to get the 50-50 balls then we've got some serious issues. Not saying that Missouri was looking forward or anything else because I thought they played extremely hard, but our guys understand there is not room between their back and the wall. We've got to come out and give it everything we've got and see what happens."

Doc Sadler on his team outhustling Missouri the entire game.