With 2011's NCAA Bracket machinations it's officially possible to say that the Missouri Basketball Tigers have earned a first-round bye in the NCAA Tournament, which would be braggable if so many other teams hadn't managed it all of a sudden this year. With the First Four on the wane Rock M Nation offers a great second-round preview, if you'd like to call it that, of Missouri's upcoming game with the Cincinnati Bearcats. The gist—Cincinnati is "... well, they're a Big East team," physical and rebound-y and prone to foul and be fouled.
↵If Missouri is going to win this 6-vs-11 matchup, they'll have to resist the temptation to do a bad job of imitating a Big East game and remake the game in their own, fast-paced image. They'll also have to make enough shots that Cincinnati's outstanding rebounding game doesn't become too much of an issue.
↵If this feels, after the first half, like a classic, high-speed Mike Anderson Mizzou game, this team definitely has a shot to get into the, ah, third round. If it looks like a Cincinnati game, things get less promising in a hurry.