Bruce Pearl Nashville, Tenn.--Coach Bruce Pearl’s Auburn Tigers are taking on the Missouri Tigers on Thursday in the Southeastern Conference Basketball Tournament at Bridgestone Arena. Auburn, which is ranked 22nd in this week’s AP Top 25 poll and No. 24 in the USA Today Coaches Poll, has a 22-9 overall record and is 11-7 in the SEC. The Tigers are No. 17 in the NCAA Net ranking. Missouri advanced to the matchup vs. Auburn with a 71-61 victory over Georgia on Wednesday night. That improved Mizzou’s record to 15-16 after entering the tournament as the No. 12 seed with a 5-13 SEC record. Auburn is the fifth seed for the tournament after finishing in a tie for fourth place with South Carolina, which earned the double bye into the quarter-finals by defeating the Tigers. The teams met just once this season with Auburn taking a 92-58 victory on Jan. 30th at Auburn Arena. The last time Auburn and Missouri played in the SEC Tournament was in the 2017 event at Bridgestone Arena, a game Missouri won 83-80 in overtime. Tipoff is set for 25 minutes after the conclusion of the noon CDT game matching Florida and Arkansas and it will be televised on the SEC Network. Here is Auburn’s expected starting lineup: 6-3 Sr. guard Bryce Brown (15.7 points, 2.0 rebounds, 1.8 assists) 5-11 Jr. guard Jared Harper (15.2 points, 2.6 rebounds and 5.9 assists) 6-8 So. forward Chuma Okeke (11.9 points, 6.8 rebounds, 2.0 assists) 6-4 Jr. guard Samir Doughty (7.3 points, 3.5 rebounds, 1.8 assists) OR 6-6 Sr. forward Malik Dunbar (7.2 points, 3.5 rebounds) 6-7 Jr. forward Anfernee McLemore (7.3 points, 4.2 rebounds) Here is Missouri’s expected starting lineup: 6-2, 180 Sr. guard Jordan Geist (14.5 points, 4.7 rebounds, 3.1 assists) 6-5, 200 Fr. guard Torrence Watson (6.6 points, 1.5 rebounds) 6-2, 170 Fr. guard Xavier Pinson (6.7 points, 2.6 rebounds, 2.2 assists) 6-7, 238 Sr. forward Kevin Puryear (7.2 points, 4.9 rebounds, 1.2 assists) 6-10, 252 So. forward Jeremiah Tilmon (10.2 points, 5.9 rebounds)<doc-sep>Auburn starts its SEC Tournament against Missouri on Thursday afternoon in Nashville. AU defeated Mizzou by 34 points back in late January, but Pearl says they’ll be facing a different team in this one. Missouri defeated Georgia, 71-61, on Wednesday night. They’ll need to win five games in five days to make the NCAA Tournament. Follow along below for live updates. Updates: -- Auburn wins 81-71, and moves on to face South Carolina in the quarterfinals. Auburn has won four in a row and 7-of-8 overall. -- All of Brown’s 17 points have come in the second half. -- Auburn 7-of-12 from behind the arc in the second half. They were 3-of-17 in the first half. -- Danjel Purifoy is two minutes off a season-high. Just hit a big 3-pointer to put Auburn up by six points. -- Auburn’s 10 point lead is gone. Geist is going off and the game is tied. -- Bryce Brown had 0 points in the first 24 minutes. He’s got 9 points in the last 78 seconds. -- It took 24 minutes exactly for Brown or Harper to score. Brown’s 3-pointer puts AU up by six. -- Auburn didn’t get a single point from Jared Harper or Bryce Brown, but still lead by two points at halftime over Missouri. -- Auburn is playing offense/defense wither Harper and McCormick. -- Bryce and Jared are a combined 0-of-9 from the floor. Auburn still up five. -- Spencer had six points, three rebounds, three blocks, and two steals in nine minutes. -- Horace Spencer is playing his best minutes of the season right now. -- Auburn takes a lead. Right after entering the game, J’Von McCormick comes in and blows to the basket. It’s 19-18. -- Auburn is 0-of-7 from 3, and just air-balled two in a row. -- The score is Geist 8, Okeke 5. They’ve scored all the points. 15:47 left in the half. -- Flagrant foul called on Geist on the first possession, but Chuma Okeke misses both free throws. -- It appears Austin Wiley will be available to play for Auburn today. Unclear how many minutes he’ll go.<doc-sep>Missouri won its first-round SEC Tournament matchup with Georgia on Wednesday night, and a winnable contest against South Carolina awaits in the quarterfinals if the Tigers win Thursday. The problem is that Missouri suffered the worst loss of the Cuonzo Martin era earlier this season against its second-round opponent, the No. 22 Auburn Tigers. That 92-58 loss at Auburn Arena came at the end of MU’s worst stretch of the season, which saw the team drop six of its first seven games to start conference play. Expect a better performance from Missouri this time around, but make no mistake, this is not a favorable matchup. Another marquee performance from Geist, who dropped a career-high 30 points against the Bulldogs in Round 1, would certainly help the Tigers’ cause. More important, however, he needs to receive support from Jeremiah Tilmon, Torrence Watson and some of the other impact players who went quiet in the tournament opener. The Details Opponent: No. 22 Auburn Tigers (22-9, 11-7 SEC) Time: About 2:28 p.m. CT Where: Bridgestone Arena; Nashville, Tenn. Is Mizzou Receiving Top 25 Votes? Nope. What Does Vegas Say? Auburn, -9.5 What Does ESPN’s Basketball Power Index Say? Auburn, 87.1% Where To Watch: SEC Network Radio: Tiger Radio Network // Sirius/XM -119/199 Twitter: @MizzouHoops Facebook: Mizzou Men’s Basketball The Review Recap | Geist’s big night carries Tigers past Georgia Links | Missouri gets another chance to (ahem) beat Auburn in the SEC Tournament Study Hall | Mizzou 71, Georgia 61 Dive Cuts | Mizzou basketball turns its eye to the future Five Questions<doc-sep>Missouri basketball advances to play Auburn on Thursday And it’s only fitting, because the LAST time Missouri player Auburn in the SEC Tournament, we had the (lone) highlight of the Kim Anderson era. Happy anniversary! Two years ago on this night, Kevin Puryear hit a game-winner to beat Auburn in the opening round of the SEC Tourney and Kim Anderson walked off the court yelling “Shove it…” (you know the rest). It is my favorite SEC Tournament memory and will be difficult to ever beat. — Gabe DeArmond (@GabeDeArmond) March 13, 2019 Back to Wednesday — Missouri showed it isn’t going out without a fight, and it was led by a huge game from Jordan Geist (30 points, 9-for-15 shooting) which allowed the Tigers to overcome foul trouble (imagine that!) in the 71-61 win. Game Stories: St. Louis Post-Dispatch | Kansas City Star | Columbia Tribune | Columbia Missourian | PowerMizzou.com Also of note: Ronnie Suggs wore No. 21 for the game. Was it because Missouri retired Derrick Chievous’ No. 3 and decided Suggs had to give it up after the regular season? Not quite: Why did Ronnie Suggs wear No. 21 instead of 3? He might have left his 3 in Columbia. But, as I pointed out to him, 2 plus 1 equals 3. — Dave Matter (@Dave_Matter) March 14, 2019 But maybe this is just the spark Missouri needs to go on an improbable run to the NCAA Tournament! Next up, obviously, is fifth-seeded Auburn. Those Tigers handed these Tigers their worst loss of the season at the end of January, so maybe some revenge is in order. Here are the details for Missouri’s Thursday matchup with Auburn: Time: 2:30 p.m. CT Date: Thursday, March 14 Location: Bridgestone Arena; Nashville, Tenn. TV: SEC Network Online: WatchESPN.com Let’s go. Seeds are set for TigerStyle wrestlers at NCAA Championships After announcing qualifiers on Tuesday, the seeds for the 2019 NCAA Wrestling Championships were announced Wednesday. To the surprise of no one, Missouri is led by Daniel Lewis, who at No. 2 for 174 pounds is the Tigers’ highest-seeded wrestler. Here are all the pertinent seeds and matchups for the nine Missouri wrestlers who begin their national title quest on March 21, from the MUTigers.com release: 125 Pounds – RS Freshman No. 28 Dack Punke (11-10) vs. No. 5 Jack Mueller (Virginia – 17-0); Wrestled Mueller on Dec. 20 – L, Fall (2:55) (11-10) vs. No. 5 Jack Mueller (Virginia – 17-0); Wrestled Mueller on Dec. 20 – L, Fall (2:55) 133 Pounds – RS Senior No. 8 John Erneste (18-4) vs. Derek Spann (Buffalo – 21-4); Wrestled Spann in the MAC final on March 9 – W, 6-2 (18-4) vs. Derek Spann (Buffalo – 21-4); Wrestled Spann in the MAC final on March 9 – W, 6-2 141 Pounds – RS Junior No. 5 Jaydin Eierman (23-3) vs. Chris Debein (Chattanooga – 24-11); First meeting this season (23-3) vs. Chris Debein (Chattanooga – 24-11); First meeting this season 149 Pounds – Freshman No. 4 Brock Mauller (29-2) vs. Matthew Zovistoski (Appalachian St. – 26-13); First meeting this season (29-2) vs. Matthew Zovistoski (Appalachian St. – 26-13); First meeting this season 157 Pounds – Freshman No. 13 Jarrett Jacques (27-6) vs. Luke Weiland (Army - 24-10); First meeting this season (27-6) vs. Luke Weiland (Army - 24-10); First meeting this season 165 Pounds – RS Junior No. 15 Connor Flynn (20-7) vs. Gordon Wolf (Lehigh – 19-6); Wrestled Wolf at the South Beach Duals on Dec. 29 – W, Major Decision, 12-3 (20-7) vs. Gordon Wolf (Lehigh – 19-6); Wrestled Wolf at the South Beach Duals on Dec. 29 – W, Major Decision, 12-3 174 Pounds – RS Senior No. 2 Daniel Lewis (24-1) vs. Travis Stefanik (Princeton – 19-13); First meeting this season (24-1) vs. Travis Stefanik (Princeton – 19-13); First meeting this season 184 Pounds – RS Junior No. 14 Dylan Wisman (16-7) vs. Cameron Caffey (Michigan St. – 29-7); First meeting this season (16-7) vs. Cameron Caffey (Michigan St. – 29-7); First meeting this season 285 Pounds – Freshman No. 20 Zach Elam (22-9) vs. Matt Voss (George Mason – 30-6); First meeting this season Mizzou baseball yet again throttles Arkansas State It was a clean, crisp two-game sweep for the Tigers against Arkansas State, as Steve Beiser’s squad beat the Red Wolves 14-4 in seven innings on Tuesday. After the Red Wolves went up 4-0 in the top of the first, Missouri answered with four runs of its own in the bottom half. From there, the Tigers scored one run in the second and then seven in the third to all but end the game. That seven-run third was capped by a grand slam by (who else?) Kameron Misner, who continues his torrid start to the season. He’s now hitting .393 with five home runs and 14 RBIs after going 2-for-3 with a walk (and that grand slam) on Tuesday. Here’s the full box score: Yesterday at Rock M More Links: Jontay Porter checks in at No. 21 on SI’s latest NBA Draft Big Board. Two more Missouri divers earned berths into the NCAA Championships (via MUTigers.com) Missouri women’s basketball is hosting an open-to-the-public watch party at 5 p.m. Monday at the Walsworth Family Columns Club at Memorial Stadium. Head on over to see where the Mizzou women will end up in the NCAA Tournament. Missed this on Tuesday, but more proof that Drew Lock has an absolute howlitzer for a right arm: Crazy story: #Mizzou RB Larry Rountree says @DrewLock23 once split his gloves in practice. "Drew had a cannon." pic.twitter.com/hoJIKStKTZ — Andrew Kauffman (@AndrewABC17) March 13, 2019<doc-sep>
Auburn will face Missouri for the second time this season when the two teams tip off Thursday in the second round of the SEC Tournament in Nashville. Auburn knocked off Missouri 92-58 in the first meeting between the teams earlier this season in Auburn. Auburn (21-7) enters the game as the No. 5 seed in the tournament. Mizzou (15-16) is the No. 12 seed and knocked off No. 13 seed Georgia 71-61 in the first round to advance in the tournament. Here's how you can watch the game, along with a few notes and projected starting lineups. You can also follow along at AuburnUndercover.com for live updates when the game tips off. Missouri vs. Auburn When: Wednesday, 2 p.m. CT Where: Bridgestone Arena; Nashville TV: SEC Network Online video: watchESPN Radio: WTGZ-FM 93.9 in Auburn | List of affiliates | Auburn Gameday app |TuneIn Line: Auburn -9 (Wynn in Las Vegas) All Auburn basketball games can be found on the Auburn Sports Network radio affiliates covering the the entire state of Alabama plus portions of Georgia, Florida, Mississippi, Tennessee, Arkansas, South Carolina and Kentucky. A few notes, courtesy of Auburn media relations: » Auburn is 26-38 (.406) in the SEC Tournament since its renewal in 1979. Overall, the Tigers have a 30-55 (.353) mark in the tournament. Auburn has won one SEC Tournament title in program history as the eighth-seeded Tigers became the first team to win four games in four days to take home the championship in 1985. Additionally, Auburn finished as the runner-up twice (1984, 2000). » Guards Bryce Brown and Jared Harper were named to the All-SEC second team by the league’s coaches. Harper was also honored with All-SEC second team recognition by the media. » Brown and Harper are the first backcourt in Auburn history to garner all-conference honors in back-to-back seasons. They are the fifth and sixth Tigers to be named All-SEC under head coach Bruce Pearl. » Chuma Okeke has scored in double figures in 15 of the last 16 games, during which he is averaging 13.8 points, 7.4 rebounds and 1.6 steals per game. Okeke has made a 3-pointer in 14 of the last 15 games, including 12 straight from Jan. 19-Feb. 27. In those 15 games, he is 25-of-58 (43.1 percent) from long range. » After picking up a win over Mississippi State, the Tigers have back-to-back 20-win seasons for just the fourth time in program history and the first time since 1998-99 and 1999-2000. » The lucky number for Auburn this year has been 80. When the Tigers put up 80 or more on the scoreboard, they are 14-2. Conversely, Auburn is 2-6 when allowing 80 or more points in a game this season. » Auburn is third overall in the SEC and tied for fourth in conference games averaging 14.7 assists per game games and 13.1 assists per game, respectively. The Tigers are 15-1 this season when they record at least 15 assists and 17-2 when they have more assists than turnovers. » Auburn committed only five turnovers in its victory over No. 5 Tennessee to end the regular season. It is the Tigers’ sixth game of the season with under 10 turnovers, including four in the last seven games. The five turnovers against the Volunteers are the Tigers’ fewest since they tied a program record with just three turnovers against Mississippi State on Feb. 4, 2012. For the season, Auburn is third in the SEC averaging 12.6 turnovers per game. » Auburn shot 237-of-321 (73.8 percent) from the charity stripe over the last 17 games of the regular season after going 188-of-282 (66.7 percent) in the first 14 games of the season. The Tigers have shot at least 75 percent from the line in 11 of their last 17 contests after doing so just three times in the first 14 games of the season. Auburn is 11-2 when it shoots more free throws than an opponent and 12-2 when it outscores an opponent from the line. The Tigers are 13-2 when an opponent attempts fewer than 20 free throws. » Auburn’s senior class of Cole Blackstock, Bryce Brown, Malik Dunbar and Horace Spencer has combined for 76 wins, the sixth-most by any class in program history. » After being one of the youngest teams in the NCAA last year with one senior, Auburn boasts 13 upperclassmen and has 4,182 career points returning for the 2018-19 season - eighth-highest in the country.