At Enterprise Center, Mizzou basketball gets rare opportunity for redemption

ST. LOUIS — The NCAA Tournament has a knack for creating unfamiliarity.

Many participating teams play acold from home. Some matchups characteristic opposing styles of play unseen successful nan regular season. The NCAA Tournament action committee is benignant to immoderate regarding locations and matchups, but surely not all.

There mightiness not beryllium a squad that received a kinder group of circumstances than Mizzou, which will look No. 7 Miami (Fla.) arsenic nan West Region’s No. 10 seed connected Friday astatine 9:10 p.m.

Some teams will rack up a ton of hose miles from playing successful March Madness. Villanova and St. John’s are playing their opening-round games successful San Diego. UCLA and UCF will look disconnected successful Philadelphia, while Saint Louis will conflict Georgia successful Buffalo.

Mizzou, meanwhile, gets to play astir 2 hours eastbound of field successful St. Louis, which is besides nan university’s largest alumni base. Miami (Fla.) caput coach Jai Lucas said connected Thursday that he’s treating Friday’s title arsenic a roadworthy game. Interestingly, Dennis Gates seemed staunchly against calling Friday a location game.

“I don’t position thing arsenic a location crippled because it is not astatine Mizzou Arena connected Norm Stewart Court,” he said. “I can’t task nan summons sales. We look astatine it arsenic nan NCAA Tournament. And nan NCAA Tournament is each astir neutral sites.”

Regardless of really some coaches are preparing for nan ambiance successful Enterprise Center, nan Tigers playing truthful adjacent to location is uncommon for a squad of their caliber, arsenic noted successful my fan guide. Since 2000, only 19 teams seeded No. 9-16 person played their first NCAA Tournament crippled wrong 2 hours of campus.

Additionally, Mizzou will play Miami (Fla.) astatine nan tract of MU’s demoralizing 91-48 nonaccomplishment to Illinois successful December. I asked Jacob Crews if that’s still successful his head.

“It’s difficult not to deliberation about,” he said.

Annor Boateng called nan loss, which was MU’s seventh-worst since World War II, “one of our lowest points”. Trent Pierce, however, looked astatine nan nonaccomplishment successful a different light.

“That was our turning point,” he said. Mizzou would spell connected to hit Florida and Kentucky successful consecutive games, pinch aggregate players referencing clip distant from nan squad arsenic a affirmative reset for them, arsenic almost 2 weeks separated nan Illinois and Florida games.

Now, nan get-back is wrong reach.

“I spot it arsenic a crippled for america to redeem ourselves here,” Pierce said.

As if that wasn’t enough, Mizzou will beryllium facing a reflector image of itself successful Miami (Fla.). Like nan Tigers, nan Hurricanes tally overmuch of their discourtesy wrong nan arc done a jumbo guardant successful Malik Reneau. They don’t sprout galore 3’s (320th successful 3-point attempts per game) and get to nan free-throw statement astatine a decent complaint (89th successful free-throw attempts), but they struggle erstwhile they get location (310th successful free-throw percentage). The Hurricanes besides for illustration to batter and bruise opponents astir nan handbasket connected some ends of nan floor.

“We spot a batch of america successful them,” Boateng said.

Plus, nan Tigers will spot immoderate acquainted faces connected nan opposing sideline. Charlton “C.Y.” Young, now an adjunct coach astatine UM, spent 3 seasons arsenic an adjunct nether Gates astatine Mizzou. Marcus Allen, a Miami autochthonal who played his freshman play astatine Mizzou, transferred to nan Hurricanes aft past season, though he’s been retired since December arsenic he battles Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma.

Elsewhere, UM defender Tru Washington played pinch Trent Pierce astatine AZ Compass Prep successful Phoenix, while Miami (Fla.) defender Tre Donaldson was teammates pinch Anthony Robinson II astatine Florida State University High School successful Tallahassee, Fla. Young said it’ll beryllium “weird” coaching against players he’s mentored for a agelong time.

Before nan season, Sebastian Mack compared his style of play to chap Chicago autochthonal Charlie Moore, a five-year assemblage subordinate who spent his last play pinch nan Hurricanes arsenic their starting constituent guard.

So, what does this each mean?

Mizzou hasn’t felt for illustration a squad of destiny astatine galore points this season. Their destiny often seemed to be, astatine most, an early exit successful nan Big Dance. While a fistful of spectacular wins yet sewage nan Tigers into nan 64-team field, they squandered galore opportunities for moreover greater success, truthful overmuch truthful that Shawn Phillips Jr., who’s from Dayton, Ohio, said he thought Mizzou mightiness play location successful nan First Four.

And yet, immoderate stars are still aligning for nan Tigers. They not only avoided nan play-in games, but they get to play adjacent to location against their doppelganger successful nan aforesaid spot wherever they deed stone bottommost — this whitethorn beryllium nan universe’s measurement of asking Mizzou if it genuinely wants revenge. Creating much perfect circumstances for nan Tigers would beryllium highly difficult.

Perhaps this is simply a squad of destiny. The past clip Mizzou entered nan NCAA Tournament arsenic a double-digit seed and faced Miami (Fla.) successful nan Round of 64 was successful 2002, erstwhile nan Tigers became nan first No. 12 seed to make nan Elite Eight. The past clip Mizzou suffered a non-conference nonaccomplishment of astatine slightest 40 points and still made nan NCAA Tournament was successful 1994, erstwhile nan Tigers captured a No. 1 seed and made nan Elite Eight.

Fate has already brought nan Tigers and ‘Canes together, moreover against Young’s desires.

“I wish we didn’t person to spell to battle,” Young said. “I deliberation nan NCAA (Selection) Committee has a consciousness of joke … They for illustration awesome storylines and each that stuff, truthful I had a emotion it was coming.”

With nan madness group to return complete St. Louis, destiny has done each it can. Redemption is now afloat successful Mizzou’s control, and its play will mostly beryllium defined by whether nan Tigers tin execute it aliases not.