Game Information
Missouri Tigers (11-3) at Kentucky Wildcats (9-5)
Time: 6pm CT Wednesday
How to watch: ESPN2
DraftKings Odds
Spread: UK -12.5
Total: 151.5
KenPom Projection
Kentucky 82, Mizzou 73
Mizzou Heads To Rupp
The Missouri Tigers look for a second straight conference victory tonight when they head to Lexington to take on the Kentucky Wildcats.
The Tigers have never won at Rupp Arena in nine previous attempts.
Tigers Have Gotten Healthy
Mizzou is coming off a crucial 76-74 victory over Florida last time out. The Tigers essentially accomplished nothing in their non-conference, so the win was massive to get their season on track.
Missouri got a huge lift from the return of Jayden Stone and Trent Pierce against the Gators. The pair combined for 19 points and 11 rebounds. The Tigers will need everyone to contribute tonight if they want to accomplish their first-ever 2-0 start in SEC play.
Wildcats Still Finding Form
This appears to be a good Kentucky team, but not a dominant one like we are used to. The Wildcats are 9-5 on the year, with all of their losses coming against quality competition in Louisville, Michigan State, North Carolina, Gonzaga, and Alabama.
Kentucky excels scoring in the paint, as they are a top 35 team in the country in two-point field goal percentage at 58.4%.
My Lean
I was dead wrong on Missouri against Florida. I thought the Tigers didn’t have much to offer this season, but I apparently underestimated the impact of the injuries to Stone and Pierce.
I’m in wait-and-see mode on Missouri to see if that win was a sign of things to come or a one-game aberration. So I think the best look for tonight’s game is the under.
Mizzou’s zone defense that was so strong against Florida has a real chance to be effective again tonight because Kentucky is not a good three-point shooting team. The Wildcats rank 203rd in the country hitting just 33.1% from deep.
But I also expect Missouri to struggle to score tonight in a hostile environment and against a very big team that defends the paint well. Look for this game to end in the 140’s.
Lean: Under 151.5 at -112 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