Mizzou - Cornell Matchup No Slam Dunk?

Keegan Hamilton took a little grief for his recent post "Sixteen Reasons Mizzou Won't Make it Past the Sweet Sixteen."

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Fair enough. We all know the boy's a Washington Huskies fan (and alum).

But he isn't alone in noticing the Tigers' potential vulnerability.

Exhibit A: Today's New York Times story on the anatomy of March Madness upsets cites Mizzou-Cornell as a case in point in the "Luck of the Draw" category of David slaying Goliath:

THIS YEAR'S HOPE Cornell. The 14th-seeded Big Red is facing third-seeded Missouri, which loves to keep the pace frenetic. But so does the Big Red.

Sports Illustrated's Seth Davis is another non-believer, as he points out in his "At the Tourney" column. Though he doesn't foresee an early exit (see Davis' complete bracket here), he's by no means bullish on the Tigers' chance of making the big dance out of the West region:

Missouri has done a fabulous job maximizing its talent this season, but if an opponent can handle the Tigers' full-court pressure and force them to score in the half court, they're going to be in trouble.

Then again, one dark horse Davis does like in the West is...the Huskies.