COLUMBIA, Mo. - More often than not this time of year, the Missouri basketball team is finishing out the regular season with hopes of improving its seed for the Big 12 Tournament, while hoping it's done enough to be selected for the NCAA Tournament.
This year is a little different as Missouri doesn't have to worry about either. The Tigers are locked into the No. 2 seed of the Big 12 Tournament which begins Thursday at the Sprint Center in Kansas City, and they know they will be in the field of 68 when it's announced next Sunday.
But that doesn't make today's regular-season finale at last-place Texas Tech (3 p.m., KMIZ-TV) any less important.
The Tigers are still in the hunt for a top seed. If Missouri wins out, it's possible the Tigers still could snatch a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament, something it hasn't done since 1994. A loss to Texas Tech would hurt Missouri's seeding. Most national mock-bracket websites have Missouri as a No. 2 seed.