MU, SIU to tango, tangle

Tigers, Salukis assigned as partners at 'The Big Dance.'

The Associated Press

DALLAS -- After an inspiring comeback that fell just short in their fourth game in as many days, the Missouri Tigers found out what's next for them.

There was no question there'd be a spot in the NCAA tournament for the 21-10 Tigers, it was just where and against what opponent. And they learned they'll head for Indianapolis, as the No. 6 seed in the Midwest Region, for a game on Thursday against Southern Illinois.

Southern Illinois, seeded 11th in the region, made the field again after reaching the Sweet 16 a year ago. The Salukis, seeded 11th in the East last year, lost out to second-seeded Connecticut, 70-59.

"They're a good team, I remember them from last year, when they made a run in the tournament," said Missouri center Arthur Johnson. "But all that doesn't matter now; it's sweet just to be playing."

Johnson led the Tigers with 21 points and 11 rebounds Sunday as they came back from 22 points down to lose to Oklahoma by only two, 49-47, in the championship game of the Big 12 tournament.

Earlier in the tournament, the unranked Tigers had knocked off 23rd-ranked Oklahoma State and No. 4 Kansas. But things looked bleak Sunday as Missouri trailed 37-18 at the half.

"Everybody probably thought that this game was over," coach Quin Snyder said. "There was ample opportunity to rationalize."

"I was talking to them about that's the way losers think," he said. "That's not how we're going to think."

Looking ahead to the matchup with 24-6 Southern Illinois, which lost 80-56 to Creighton in the Missouri Valley tournament championship, Snyder called the Salukis "a heck of a ballclub."

"They're a team that's also had some success recently in the NCAA tournament," Snyder said. "So, they know how to win games."

"You've got to play somebody," the Missouri coach said after the pairings were announced. "They chose to have us play them, and vice-versa. You always expect competitive games. The more you worry about seeding issues and some of those things on Selection Sunday, the less you get focused on what you need to do to win."

"It doesn't really matter who we play," said Missouri freshman Jimmy McKinney. "We're just hungry, and we want to win."

Missouri's Ricky Clemons, a junior college transfer in his first year with the Tigers, said he knew since he was little that someday he'd be playing in the NCAA tournament.

"I didn't know where or when, but I knew," he said. "And now, I'm part of something that's special."

If Missouri wins its first game, next up will be either Marquette, seeded third in the region, or Holy Cross, the No. 14 seed.

The Tigers have gone deeper into the tournament each year under Snyder, now in his fourth season. The team followed a first-round loss to North Carolina in 2000 with a second-round loss to Duke in 2001 and an Elite Eight setback to Oklahoma last season. Missouri also made the tournament in 1999, Norm Stewart's last season as coach, losing in the first round to New Mexico.