College Basketball Bracketology 2018: Feb. 26

Super duds of the week:

Missouri State Bears (MVC)

The pre-season MVC favorites finished in a three-way tie for seventh place in the conference final standings. A campaign full of such promise and a team featuring a first-round NBA prospect in Alize Johnson, a 17-14 (7-11) finish is flat out unacceptable. They’ve dropped four straight and lost nine of their last eleven contests. Many of their losses this season have come in the final minutes, with a thin red line between success and failure — with the latter ringing true for the Bears. Seventh-year head coach Paul Lusk’s time in Springfield, Missouri looks to be over, dragging the Bears into irrelevance within the college basketball world during his tenure.

Speaking of Alize Johnson, this summer he outplayed the likes of Michael Porter Jr., Bruce Brown, Mikal Bridges and, Yante Maten at the Adidas Nations showcase — winning MVP honors in the process. With Johnson and a talented roster, the Bears could become the first seven seed to win the MVC tournament, but unfortunately for them, their head coach has not won a big game in his seven years at Missouri State.

Missouri Tigers (SEC)

Former Missouri State coach Cuonzo Martin had his Missouri Tigers in excellent shape coming into the week, one which started off with a bang. NBA lottery prospect Michael Porter was cleared to play for the first time since opening day, giving the Tigers all the momentum down the home stretch.

However, Mizzou lost to lowly Ole Miss at home and were routed in Lexington by the Kentucky Wildcats, knocking the Tigers back near the wrong side of the bubble. Now, they have zero margin for error, and things do not get much easier down the stretch. Plus, it’s unknown if Porter will even suit up. If he does, Mizzou may be in business come March Madness time.