Mizzou women’s basketball saw its three-game winning streak ended on Sunday by way of an 85-66 home loss to Georgia. This loss now placed the Tigers at 16-10, 4-7 in the SEC. This concluded a key stretch in which Mizzou only faced one ranked opponent over the last seven games. The Tigers made the most of the 7-game stint, finishing 4-3.
But now the team concludes the regular season with four ranked opponents across their last five games. That all starts in coach Kellie Harper’s return to No. 22 Tennessee in Knoxville on Thursday. This is the first time Harper will be coaching on Thompson-Boiling Arena since she was the Lady Vols’ head coach during the 2023-24 season.
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With only one game this week, let’s take an in-depth look both at what this Tennessee team has to offer and where Mizzou stands relative to the bubble and if they have any shot to reach the NCAA Tournament.
Bubble Bound?
This recent hot stretch now begs the question; has Mizzou done enough to put themselves in the NCAA Tournament? Short answer, no. Currently the Tigers are not even on the bubble, ranked No. 71 in the NET Rankings at the time of writing this. Currently ESPN has Virginia projected as the last team in and Colorado as the first team out. Those schools are No. 36 and No. 45 in the rankings respectively.
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This means that while this has still been a major step forward for Mizzou, barring a plethora of top25 upsets there is no chance of reaching the Big Dance. However, that doesn’t mean the Tigers’ season has to end on March 1.
Mizzou is in the exact same spot as Drake was last season, who earned a bid into the Women’s Basketball Invitational Tournament, or WBIT. This year marks the third year of the WBIT, which has replaced the WNIT as the secondary tournament in women’s college basketball. This would potentially give the Tigers their first postseason matchup since the 2022-23 season when they reached the second round of the WNIT.
While it wouldn’t hold the same sort of bravado as an NCAA Tournament appearance, a trip to the WBIT would be concrete proof that Mizzou is heading in the right direction. Plus, any extra basketball is always a bit of fun.
Return to Rocky Top
NCAA Women’s Basketball Tournament – First Round – Raleigh
In what may be one of the most anticipated matchups of the season, Coach Harper returns to her alma mater and her last coaching stop when Mizzou takes on No. 22 Tennessee. Harper will forever be linked to the Lady Vols, winning three national titles under legendary coach Pat Summitt. She later took the reigns as head coach for five seasons, but could never take the team past the Sweet Sixteen.
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The Lady Vols have controlled the series from front-to-back, currently leading 18-3 and riding an eight-game winning streak. Tennessee won last year’s matchup in Columbia in a back-and-forth showdown 76-71.
Tennessee is still ranked and a projected No. 5 seed in the NCAA Tournament, but has suffered several major losses lately. In the past two weeks the Lady Vols have lost to UCONN and South Carolina by a combined 73 points. While there is no shame in losing to the two teams who played in the National Championship, the fashion which it happened already has some members of the fanbase putting second-year head coach Kim Caldwell on the hot seat.
With that said, this is still an extremely talented Tennessee team that has a plethora of top-25 wins. The team scores by committee, with four players averaging 11-plus points this season. Leading the way is Talaysia Cooper with 14.6 points, 5.6 rebounds, 4.0 assists and 3.0 steals. The junior went off in the Lady Vols’ last matchup with Mizzou, scoring 27 points plus seven rebounds and six(!) steals. While the Tigers need to be mindful of all of Tennessee’s offensive weapons, the defensive game plan starts with stopping Cooper.
Player to Watch: Lisa Thompson
Thompson is coming off her best game to-date as a Tiger, scoring 14 points on 5-8 from the field and 4-6 from the FT line. This marks only the third time this season the Rutgers transferred has scored double-digits this season. She was extremely efficient, making the most of her 15 minutes of playing time.
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Thompson has been a real Swiss Army knife for Mizzou, using her skills as a point guard to fill in the gaps where injuries have left the Tigers scrambling for answers. She has started a grand total of 10 games this season, with the last four coming after Shannon Dowell was hurt.
As injuries continue to plague the Tigers roster in year one under Coach Harper, having productive players like Lisa Thompson who can fill in the gaps are a major plus.
Thompson and the rest of Mizzou faces off against Tennessee at 5:30 p.m. Thursday in Knoxville. The game is available to watch on SEC Network+ through the ESPN app.
