When did you realize that Missouri was going to beat Alabama on Wednesday night? For me, it was with about five minutes remaining in the first half when Caleb Grill threw down a reverse dunk in transition that sent the crowd into a frenzy and prompted Nate Oats to throw a clipboard.
The dunk didn't count, by the way.
A foul killed the play, but Grill still took the ball the length of the court and threw down a pretty impressive dunk for the sake of electrifying the crowd in Columbia.
I can't think of a more obvious March Madness hero than Caleb Grill — on Wednesday, he scored 25 off the bench as No. 15 Missouri knocked off No. 4 Alabama, 110-98 in a massive win for the Tigers. He's a sixth-year senior who has never averaged more than 10 points per game until this year and he's making nearly half of his 3-point attempts. He will be a darling by the second round.
Missouri projected AP ranking after upsetting Alabama
With another game to play this week, this projection is subject to change. But Missouri is now 20-6 and 9-4 in SEC play. The Tigers have beaten Alabama, Florida, Ole Miss and Mississippi State and they're a weird loss to Texas away from being really in the conversation for the SEC crown.
If the AP rankings came out today, I believe Missouri would be ranked No. 11 in the country — and it's tough to argue against them deserving it, too. This team is legit, and head coach Dennis Gates should be a real candidate for national Coach of the Year for the turnaround he's spearheaded at Mizzou.
A few more wins to close out the year and I wouldn't be shocked to see this team end the regular season in the top 10 — a sentence that no one would have predicted in November.