Men’s Basketball Earns NCAA Bid; Plays Miami in St. Louis
3/15/2026 5:46:00 PM | Men's Basketball
The Mizzou men's basketball team is going dancing as the Tigers earned a bid to the 2026 NCAA Tournament, announced on Selection Sunday. Receiving a No. 10 seed, Mizzou opens its quest for a national title against Miami (Fla.) on Friday.
The Tigers and Hurricanes are set to tip off at 9:10 p.m. CT on Friday night in the first round, playing in St. Louis' Enterprise Center on truTV. The winner of the first-round game will square off with the winner of Purdue and Queens on Sunday.
Mizzou has faced the Hurricanes one time previously, earning a 93-80 victory in the 2002 NCAA Tournament First Round in Albuquerque, New Mexico. The Tigers' win was the first of three postseason victories that year en route to the Elite Eight.
The Tigers are one of 10 bids from the SEC, earning an at-large invitation after posting a 20-12 overall mark with a 10-8 record in conference play. The Hurricanes went 25-8 out of the ACC with a 13-5 mark in league play.
Overall, Mizzou earned its 31st bid to the NCAA Tournament, including its second straight and third in four years under head coach Dennis Gates. The Tigers received consecutive invitations to the national tournament for the first time since a run of five-straight from 2009 to 2013. In total, Mizzou owns 23 victories at the NCAA Tournament, advancing as far as the Elite Eight five times in its history (1944, 1976, 1994, 2002 and 2009).
