Mizzou Tigers men’s basketball at Ole Miss: Prediction, time, TV, lineups
THE DETAILS
When: 6 p.m. Tuesday
Where: SBJ Pavilion, Oxford, Mississippi
TV: ESPNU
Radio: KMBZ (98.1 FM)
Betting line: Ole Miss by 9.5
About Ole Miss (9-7, 1-3 SEC): The Rebels have dropped four of their last five games, most recently at home against Auburn — which is now ranked No. 2 in the country. Ole Miss held strong against the SEC’s best team in the 80-71 defeat, leading for more than half of the game. Guard Austin Crowley left that contest early with an ankle injury, adding to an already hampered roster for head coach Kermit Davis. Senior forward Robert Allen, who was averaging 6.5 points and 5.4 rebounds per game, is out for the season after tearing his ACL in December. Senior guard Jarkel Joiner, who was the team’s leading scorer with 13.6 points per game, along with 3.2 rebounds and 2.8 assists, is currently out with an injured back. KenPom ranks Ole Miss No. 104.
About Missouri (7-9, 1-3 SEC): The Tigers have also lost four of their last five games, most recently to Texas A&M, 67-64, at home last Saturday. The Tigers led by as many as 13 points against the Aggies and were up 10 at halftime, but let off the gas in the second half and whiffed on their final possession with 3.8 seconds left. Forward Kobe Brown has been quiet on offense in each of the last two contests, scoring six points in a 44-point loss to Arkansas followed by seven against Texas A&M — it’s the first time he’s scored in single digits in back to back games this season and the Tigers will need more production from him moving forward. KenPom ranks Missouri No. 169.
PROJECTED LINEUPS
P | No. | Ole Miss | Ht. | Yr. | PPG |
G | 2 | Daeshun Ruffin | 5-9 | Fr. | 11.1 |
G | 11 | Matthew Murrell | 6-4 | So. | 9.8 |
G/F | 15 | Luis Rodriguez | 6-6 | Jr. | 6.3 |
F | 4 | Jaemyn Brakefield | 6-8 | So. | 9.3 |
C | 3 | Nysier Brooks | 7-0 | Gr. | 9.4 |
P | No. | Missouri | Ht. | Yr. | PPG |
G | 4 | “Boogie” Coleman | 6-5 | Jr. | 9.8 |
G | 5 | Javon Pickett | 6-5 | Sr. | 9.3 |
G | 12 | DaJuan Gordon | 6-3 | Jr. | 8.9 |
F | 23 | Trevon Brazile | 6-9 | Fr. | 5.6 |
F | 24 | Kobe Brown | 6-8 | Jr. | 14.2 |
PREDICTION
Will Missouri finally get a road win in its fifth try? Probably not.
The Tigers have been horrendous in true road games, losing those by an average margin of 32.3 points. They’ve gone 1-6 away from Mizzou Arena on the season, dropping neutral site games to Florida State and Illinois while managing to defeat SMU in overtime. Those six defeats have come by an average of 29.5 points.
Mizzou has especially struggled against decent defenses this season, going 1-7 against opponents that rank in the top-60 in defensive efficiency, per KenPom (the sole win was Alabama, which was No. 55 as of Monday evening). Ole Miss is No. 53 in the country in that category, which doesn’t bode well for the Tigers.
As it has in every road game this season, more likely than not Mizzou will start slow, fall into a big hole early and never be able to crawl out of it on Tuesday night.
KenPom gives Missouri a 22% chance of a win and the ESPN BPI has the odds of victory at 13.3%.
Ole Miss 73, Missouri 59
