How the SEC Weekend Slate Impacted Mizzou Basketball

Plenty of surprising wins and losses not only shook the college basketball world but applied a direct impact on Missouri's season.

Feb 1, 2025; Lexington, Kentucky, USA; Kentucky Wildcats center Amari Williams (22) defends the basket against Arkansas Razorbacks forward Adou Thiero (3) during the second half at Rupp Arena at Central Bank Center. Mandatory Credit: Jordan Prather-Imagn Images / Jordan Prather-Imagn Images

The Southeastern Conference is a revolving door of wins, losses and big-impact performers. It holds some of the best teams in the country, as well as some of the best players.

This past weekend, a frenzy of high-quality games was on the slate for a classic Saturday of basketball. From a shocking defeat in Lexington, Ky. to a few big blowouts, the true colors of arguably the best conference in basketball were on display.

Missouri was on the positive side of the blowout spectrum. The No. 20 Tigers beat No. 14 Mississippi State 88-61 in Starkville, Miss., earning another impressive conference road win and continuing to earn national recognition.

Here's how the rest of the SEC played out yesterday and how it effects Missouri's season.

No. 1 Auburn Defeats No. 23 OIe Miss

The top-ranked team in the country wasn't supposed to lose this game and they didn't. Auburn showed a little bit of weakness and only won 92-82, trailing by a point or two at certain points in the second half.

The loss affects Missouri more than Auburn winning does. Ole Miss will now fall out of the top 25 and place a damper on the then-impressive win for Missouri. Though the Tigers are starting to build a resume, Ole Miss is supposed to be at the top of that marquee list.

Ole Miss has now lost four of its last five, including the game against Missouri. The singular win came against Texas, who's also starting to play well. The Rebels shouldn't have any issues making March Madness but, for a win that was supposed to be a big one for Missouri, compounding losses doesn't help.

Texas Defeats LSU

The Longhorns defeated LSU 89-58 on the road. Even if LSU is in the bottom portion of SEC teams, a blowout win on the road in conference play goes a long way. Texas is finally finding its footing in conference play, which may have started with its win over Missouri.

Texas has also beat Texas A&M and Oklahoma in the last six games. All another Texas win does is make the road loss look better for Missouri. It also would have made a road win in Austin look even better.

Missouri also defeated LSU early into SEC play, a good one to secure early especially while teams were still learning about themselves. An early loss to LSU would now not look good. With the recent struggles in conference play, LSU has now solidified its position at the bottom of the SEC.

Arkansas Defeats No. 12 Kentucky

In arguably the most impressive and shocking win of the day, former head coach John Calipari walked into Rupp Arena and his Razorbacks controlled the game. The sheer surprise of the loss at home for Kentucky is one that will be remembered for quite some time.

In some ways, Arkansas winning makes Missouri's win look better. It also could be the start of an upward swing for the Razorbacks that could signal a chance at more wins and a chance at the NCAA Tournament.

Missouri takes on Kentucky in its final regular season game of the year. Where both teams will stand in the conference and nationally at that time is an unknown but it still should hold some magnitude. Both teams would love for that to be a ranked matchup for the sake of adding another impressive win to either resume.

Oklahoma Defeats No. 24 Vanderbilt

The Tigers have yet to play Oklahoma but the blowout loss for Vanderbilt certainly does not help. Vanderbilt becoming a ranked team probably became a surprise and hoping they sustain that might be a big ask but any help Missouri can get, they will take.

That being said, the Commodores simply didn't look good against Oklahoma. The Sooners are a very good team and have dropped a few games that they probably should have won and the argument certainly could be made that they are better than Vanderbilt.

It was still an impressive win for the Sooners and will be one that gets them back on track. Missouri and Oklahoma face each other for the Tigers' second-to-last matchup of the season, again leaving time for the standing of both teams to change. It will be a game both teams have circled on their calendars for multiple reasons, especially if both teams are playing well.

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