Game Information
Missouri Tigers at Howard Bison - regular season opener
Time: 6pm CT Monday
How to watch: ESPN+
DraftKings Odds
Spread: Mizzou -18.5
Total: 157.5
KenPom Projection
Mizzou 89, Howard 70
The Missouri Tigers begin their 2025-2026 college basketball season on the road when they travel to Washington, D.C. to take on the Howard Bison tonight in the regular season opener for both teams.
The Tigers are coming off an NCAA Tournament appearance last season and are expected to make a return to the Big Dance this season. They have been picked to finish 7th in the SEC preseason poll, and Joe Lunardi has Mizzou as an 8 seed in his Bracketology to start the year.
Last season’s Mizzou leading scorer Mark Mitchell returns, and he is expected to lead the way again this year as an All-SEC Preseason Second Team selection.
The Tigers were an elite offensive team last season, and if their exhibition game against Kansas State was any indication, that trend should continue here in 2025-2026. Mizzou hit the century mark in a 100-91 win over the Wildcats on October 24th at Mizzou Arena. Missouri starts the season ranked 28th in the country according to KenPom, including being tabbed as the 14th-best offensive team in the country.
The Tigers opened their home season last year against Howard and cruised to a 77-62 victory, and they are expected to have an easy time of it tonight against a Bison team that starts the season at 308th out of 365 teams in the KenPom rankings. Howard went 12-20 last season with a 7-7 record in the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference. The Bison were picked 2nd in this year’s MEAC preseason poll.
A true road game in college basketball is never a sure win. While I do expect Missouri to win easily, if forced to make a pick for this game, I think the best option is to take the over. The Tigers should be able to feast against a Howard defense that KenPom has ranked 333rd in the nation to start the season.
I could also see this game getting loose in the second half with Mizzou taking their foot off the gas a bit and Howard motivated to put on a good show for their home fans with an SEC team in the building. I think that’ll be enough to see this game creep over the total.
Lean: Over 157.5 at -115 on DraftKings
Eric Sontag hosts Domesticated Gamblers every Wednesday night on the STL Sports Central YouTube channel. Follow him on X @GamblingDads, and click here for his daily picks on all of our St. Louis area sports teams. Get Eric's picks for all sports by following him in the Action Network app with the username "esontag". Disclaimer