COLUMBIA, Mo. – After opening Southeastern Conference play with Saturday’s loss at Kentucky, Missouri returns to Norm Stewart Court tonight for a pivotal SEC home opener against Tennessee, a team with an identical record as Mizzou (8-5, 0-1) that’s lost four of its last five games. Last year, the Vols didn’t suffer their fifth loss until the SEC championship game.
It’s too early to declare anything a must-win, but if the Tigers have visions of the NCAA Tournament, anything less than a 2-0 week (Florida visits Columbia on Saturday) will put Cuonzo Martin’s team in a deep hole with two road games on the schedule next week.