This is the first time that Missouri has made the NCAA Tournament since the 2012-13 season, which was their first year in the SEC.

The Tigers went 20-12 this season, and that’s despite being without 5-star freshman Michael Porter Jr., who missed 30 of Missouri’s 32 games during the season because of a back injury. The freshman was the No. 2 overall recruit according to the 247Sports composite rankings, and also is expected to be a top pick in the 2018 NBA Draft, should he declare. He played just 2 minutes in the Tigers’ first game but he returned to action in the SEC Tournament vs. Georgia. He went 5 of 17 in that game, which the Tigers lost 62-60. Porter Jr. finished that game with 12 points and 8 rebounds.

But even without Porter Jr., the Tigers still had a strong season. Porter Jr.’s younger brother, Jontay, was one of the best freshmen in the league and was also named co-Sixth Man of the Year. The Tigers also had senior Kassius Robertson average 16 points a game and get named first team All-SEC.This is a huge improvement for the Tigers from last year. A season ago, the Tigers finished 8-24. The school moved on from Kim Anderson after just three seasons. But it seems they did well in hiring his replacement by landing Martin from Cal.

The Tigers went 10-8 in a very tough SEC, which got a record eight teams in the NCAA Tournament this year. Along with Missouri, the SEC teams that will be dancing are: Kentucky, Tennessee, Auburn, Arkansas, Florida, Texas A&M and Alabama.