Game Information
Missouri Tigers (15-7) at South Carolina Gamecocks (11-12)
Time: 12pm CT Saturday
How to watch: SEC Network
DraftKings Odds
Spread: South Carolina -1.5
Total: 145.5
KenPom Projection
South Carolina 74, Mizzou 73
The Missouri Tigers begin the second half of their SEC schedule on Saturday afternoon on the road against the South Carolina Gamecocks.
The Tigers are 5-4 in league play through the first half, and they’ll likely have to go at least 5-4 in their final nine games if they want to make the NCAA Tournament for a second straight year. The good news is Missouri’s wins over Florida and Kentucky are aging very well, in particular the Florida win with the Gators all the way up to #11 in the NET.
The Tigers are going to have to steal at least one road game if they want to finish with a winning record in the SEC, and this matchup with the Gamecocks is the most winnable away game left on the schedule in my opinion.
I’m optimistic the Tigers get this done on Saturday because South Carolina is not set up to exploit some of the key weaknesses that Missouri has.
Mizzou turns the ball over too much, ranking 250th out of 365 Division One teams in turnover rate. However, South Carolina is 322nd in the country in forcing turnovers.
The Tigers are also terrible defending the 3, ranking #307 in that department. Fortunately, the Cocks struggle from deep. They hit just 31.5% of their 3-point attempts (298th in the country).
I’d expect Mark Mitchell to be very effective on Saturday, as South Carolina is not strong with interior defense (200th in 2-point field goal percentage defense).
This should be a tight game as the oddsmakers project, but Columbia East should not be a very hostile environment to play in with South Carolina having a rough season at 2-8 in the SEC. Look for the Tigers to claw out a victory and keep their NCAA Tournament dreams a real possibility.
Lean: Mizzou +1.5 at -115 on DraftKings
Eric Sontag hosts Domesticated Gamblers every week 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