Scouting report, prediction: Auburn men's basketball at Missouri Tigers

AUBURN — Kentucky is officially in the rearview mirror for Auburn basketball.

The Wildcats were sandwiched between two opponents at the bottom of the SEC, sucking the attention away from Auburn's matchups against Georgia and Missouri.

Bruce Pearl's second-ranked team handled Georgia with ease. The next trap game has the added obstacle of being on the road, where Missouri (8-10, 2-4 SEC) already knocked off Alabama.

Last time Auburn visited, it was ranked No. 11 but lost by 12. In the two years since, Mizzou has lost key pieces including Jeremiah Tilmon, Xavier Pinson and Dru Smith.

Here are three storylines and a prediction as Auburn (18-1, 7-0) aims for its 16th straight win on Tuesday (7:30 p.m., SEC Network) at Mizzou Arena.

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All comes down to Kobe Brown

Missouri's offense has been fatally inconsistent this season, but when the Tigers win, it usually has to do with one player putting up big numbers. Junior Kobe Brown is a Huntsville native who was recruited by Pearl. The 6-foot-8 forward has improved every season under coach Cuonzo Martin, now leading Missouri in points (13.8), rebounds (8.6), steals (1.4) and blocks (0.8).

A requisite for Missouri: Brown scoring in bunches at the rim. In the Tigers' last three wins, he totaled 15 points (at Ole Miss), 30 (vs. Alabama) and 27 (vs. Utah). In their last four losses, he hasn't scored more than seven.

That matchup bodes well for Auburn, which boasts the nation's highest block percentage and holds opponents to 43.6% shooting inside the arc (No. 1 SEC, No. 13 in the country).

Monitor how Missouri crashes the boards on those misses — one of its strengths is averaging 12.1 offensive rebounds per game (No. 52 in the country).

Woeful outside shooting

Auburn hasn't always been as successful at defending the perimeter — ranking No. 9 in the SEC with 31.6% shooting allowed — but Missouri is the ninth-worst 3-point shooting team in the country.

The Tigers are 95-for-350 from 3-point range (27.1%). The next-worst team in the SEC (Arkansas) is still a solid 2% better. Guards Jarron Coleman (32.9%) and DaJuan Gordon (30.9%) carry that load while the two veterans who play the most minutes, Brown and Javon Pickett, are a combined 17-for-80 (21.3%).

Auburn has switched in and out of zone defense this season. This might be another good game for it — stump Missouri into more stagnant half-court offense and outside shooting.

Trying to regain defensive identity

Martin's teams generally rely on a physical, man-to-man defensive identity. Most of Auburn's scoring success, especially at the rim, has originated from variations of a ball-screen offense.

"They've got big guards," Pearl said. "They don't mind switching. They don't mind getting mismatches. They do a great job with mismatches when you switch them."

With a largely new roster, though, the Tigers have struggled. They're third-worst in the SEC in scoring defense (72.1 points per game allowed), second-worst in defensive efficiency (1.026) and last in 3-point defense (35.7%). Opponents shoot 49.8% inside the arc. Auburn center Walker Kessler is 91.2% at the rim in SEC play.

Prediction

Auburn 77, Missouri 63: Kessler is also one of the best interior defenders in college basketball. He'll shut down Brown and anyone else who dares approach the rim, and Auburn will pull away in the second half.

This article originally appeared on Montgomery Advertiser: Auburn men's basketball vs Missouri Tigers scouting report, prediction