Tigers hit the floor in Oklahoma City

Posted to Tourney Tracker by Ross Taylor at 9:55 a.m., March 12, 2009

OKLAHOMA CITY -- The third-seeded Missouri Tigers don't tip off for another 10 and a half hours, but the Tigers are already out on the Ford Center floor preparing for No. 11 Texas Tech.

Here's is the early morning scene here in Oklahoma City before the gates open (pardon the poor quality from my iSight camera on my laptop):

Event staff and media members are still buzzing about last night's game between No. 6 Texas A&M and No. 11 Texas Tech. Texas Tech sophomore Mike Singletary scored a Big 12 Tournament-record 43 points in leading the Red Raiders back from 22 points down to upset the Aggies.

As Missouri walked onto the floor and began to get loose, ESPN announcers Ron Franklin and Fran Fraschilla met with Missouri coach Mike Anderson. Asked about the Tech/A&M game, Anderson replied, "That's why they play the games."

The first game of the day, No. 1 Kansas vs. No. 9 Nebraska, is set to tip off at 11:30 a.m. The Maneater will have full coverage of all four of today's quarterfinal games.