Missouri pursues potentially pivotal win over Kentucky

NASHVILLE -- Kentucky, fresh off an opening-round win over LSU, meets a rested Missouri squad in the second round of the Southeastern Conference tournament on Wednesday.

The Wildcats got 23 points and eight rebounds from Otega Oweh (18.3 ppg) in an 87-82 win over LSU on Wednesday.

"I thought O was great," Kentucky coach Mark Pope said. "He started out the game, grabbed a couple huge defensive rebounds to set the tone for us. Unbelievable decision-maker. Just the force he is offensively and defensively."

Kentucky played nine men, including Kam Williams, who logged 17 minutes and scored three points after missing the previous 12 games due to a broken foot.

The Wildcats also got an unexpected boost from Brandon Garrison (4.8 ppg), whose 17 points represented his third double-figure scoring game of the season.

Missouri, viewed as a potential a No. 11 seed in multiple mock brackets, is fighting not just to make the NCAA Tournament but also to avoid a First Four game in Dayton, Ohio, next week.

The Tigers, No. 59 in the NET Rankings through the Tuesday games, are 5-6 in Quad 1 games and 5-5 in Quad 2 contests. Coach Dennis Gates believes the Tigers have other metrics going for them, too.

"Wins above bubble is the matrix which the committee will continue to talk about," Gates said earlier in the week. "And right now, we're 37th in the country in that."

Missouri has dropped a spot since Gates' comments, but the good news for the Tigers is that they are 5-0 against teams remaining in their side of the SEC tournament bracket.

That includes its lone meeting with the Wildcats, whom Missouri defeated 73-68 in Lexington, Ky., on Jan. 7. Mark Mitchell led the Tigers with 21 points and Jayden Stone chipped in 20, while Oweh's 20 led Kentucky.

Mitchell paces the Tigers in scoring (17.9 ppg), rebounds (5.2 per game) and assists (3.6 per game) with Stone contributing 13.5 points and 5.0 boards per contest.

--Chris Lee, Field Level Media