Missouri Men's Basketball Locks Down Last-Place Finish in SEC

Despite Sean East II scoring 27 points to notch his fifth-straight fifth-straight 20-point game, Mizzou's comeback against Ole Miss came up short.

Christopher Walsh | Mar 3, 2024

Missouri Men's Basketball Locks Down Last-Place Finish in SEC /

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Missouri Tigers

The Missouri basketball team was the first in the Southeastern Conference to secure its spot in the upcoming league tournament in Nashville, although in this case that's not a good thing.

With Saturday night's 84-78 home loss to Ole Miss at Mizzou Arena, the Tigers are guaranteed to finish in the bottom of the regular-season standings. They'll play the No. 11-seeded team, likely to be Arkansas or Georgia, a week from Wednesday night at Bridgestone Arena.

Graduate Sean East II made 10 of 12 shots, including 3-for-4 for 3-point range, to score 27 points for his fifth-straight 20-point game. Sophomore Aidan Shaw and junior Tamar Bates added 13 points and graduate Nick Honor added 12.

But like with so many other games during this frustrating season, the opponent was just a little bit better. Fueled by a 22-3 run in the first half, Ole Miss held a 45-26 advantage at the break, only to see the Tigers come roaring back.

At one point, Mizzou trimmed a 21-point deficit down to just two, but never fully caught the visiting team.

Matthew Murrell led the Rebels with 21 points, and his five 3-pointers tied him with Joe Harvell for fifth-most in program history at 214.

Jaemyn Brakefield had 10 of 14 free throws to finish with 19 points, and Jaylen Murray made four 3-pointers en route to 16 points.

Missouri (8-21, 0-16 SEC) shot 54.0 percent from the field, while Ole Miss (20-9, 7-9) made 50 percent of its shots.

The Tigers will play their final hame game of the season Tuesday night against Auburn (8 p.m.), and then close out the regular season at LSU next Saturday.

Note: Graduate center Connor Vanover missed the game due to a concussion.

Sean East II - Missouri vs Ole Miss - March 2, 2024 :: Amber Winkler // MizzouCentral

Jordan Bulter - Missouri vs Ole Miss - March 2, 2024 :: Amber Winkler // MizzouCentral

Nick Honor - Missouri vs Ole Miss - March 2, 2024 :: Amber Winkler // MizzouCentral

Jesus Caralero-Martin - Missouri vs Ole Miss - March 2, 2024 :: Amber Winkler // MizzouCentral

Aidan Shaw - Missouri vs Ole Miss - March 2, 2024 :: Amber Winkler // MizzouCentral

Tamar Bates - Missouri vs Ole Miss - March 2, 2024 :: Amber Winkler // MizzouCentral

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CHRISTOPHER WALSH

Christopher Walsh is the publisher of MizzouCentral. He's covered college athletics since 2004, and is the author of 26 books. He's an eight-time honoree of Football Writers Association of America awards and three-time winner of the Herby Kirby Memorial Award, the Alabama Sports Writers Association’s highest honor for story of the year. In 2022, he was named one of the 50 Legends of the ASWA. Previous beats include the Green Bay Packers, Arizona Cardinals and Tampa Bay Buccaneers, along with Major League Baseball’s Arizona Diamondbacks. Originally from Minnesota and a graduate of the University of New Hampshire, he's also the publisher of BamaCentral and Cowbell Corner in the SI/FanNation network