NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Playing in the Southeastern Conference tournament semifinals for the first time, the No. 25 Missouri Tigers traded blows with top-seeded Alabama on Saturday but fell a day short of cutting down the nets at Bridgestone Arena, losing to the SEC regular-season champions, 72-61.
In a rematch of No. 4 Alabama’s 21-point win back on Jan. 21, the Tigers had All-SEC forward Kobe Brown in the lineup this time — he missed the first game with an ankle injury —but it wasn’t enough to overcome the Crimson Tide’s combination of swarming length on defense and offensive firepower.
With the loss, the Tigers (24-9) will return home to learn their NCAA Tournament destination during Sunday’s selection show. Saturday’s credible showing against a likely No. 1 overall seed and Friday’s victory over No. 17 Tennessee, MU’s second this season over the Volunteers, likely put Dennis Gates’ team in position to avoid the dreaded 8-9 game on the NCAA bracket.
