Wednesday night in CBB we will see the Oklahoma Sooners travel to Columbia. Missouri to take on the 3rd Ranked Missouri Tigers. The game is scheduled for a 9:00 pm tipoff and will be televised live on ESPN2. Currently Missouri is favored by 16 points with the total being set at 143 for this game. The third-ranked Missouri Tigers continue their quest for a Big 12 regular season crown, as they welcome the Oklahoma State Cowboys to Columbia this evening, for a conference showdown at Mizzou Arena.
Free Analysis: Frank Haith's debut season in Columbia has been highly successful, as the Tigers have won 23 of their first 25 games. The team is currently boasting of a five-game win streak following an impressive 72-57 win over a strong Baylor squad on Saturday. The victory improved Missouri to 14-0 at home and 10-2 in the Big 12, trailing only Kansas (11-2) in the standings. Missouri earned an 89-88 win over the then-No. 3 Bears on Jan. 21, its first road victory over a top 5 team since 1994 that gave it an edge over one of its main competitors in the conference race. The Tigers, however, apparently weren't ready to play in their next contest, falling 79-72 at Oklahoma State four days later as they allowed the Cowboys to shoot a season-high 59.6 percent. Haith's squad led that game 53-45 with 14:22 to play, but its defensive intensity wasn't there as Oklahoma State got a career-high 27 points from Le'Bryan Nash and a career-best 22 from Brian Williams. That wasn't the case in Missouri's latest outing, as the Tigers limited the Bears to 36.2 percent shooting in taking the rematch 72-57 at home Saturday. Phil Pressey scored 19 points and Marcus Denmon had 16 for the Tigers, who lead third-place Baylor by 3 1/2 games. The Offense has not been a problem for Missouri this, as the team ranks seventh in the nation in scoring (80.2 ppg), third in field-goal percentage (.500) and sixth in scoring margin (+16.2). Senior guard Marcus Denmon headlines the group, ranking second in the Big 12 in scoring at 18.0 ppg. Kim English adds 14.0 ppg to the perimeter assault and has combined with Denmon for 126 off the team's 200 three-pointers to date. Ricardo Ratliffe (14.0 ppg. 6.8 rpg) is the top performer in the frontcourt. Michael Dixon (12.4 ppg) is one of the best sixth-men in the country, while point guard Phil Pressey (9.7 ppg, 5.8 apg) can both score and distribute. Travis Ford's Cowboys have struggled both in and out of conference. Oklahoma State is a game under .500 overall (12-13) and two games under that mark in conference play (5-7). OSU has dropped two of its last three games, including an 81-66 setback at Kansas this past weekend, falling to 2-5 in true road games this season. The Cowboys dug themselves in a deep hole early on, trailing by as many as 29 points in the first half against Kansas. OSU cut the lead to 12 at one point, but settled for a 15-point setback in Lawrence. Four Cowboys reached double figures in the loss,but they were abused on the boards, getting outrebounded 50-21. Oklahoma State's -0.2 scoring margin is the primary reason for the sub-par campaign thus far. The team has struggled to find consistency at the offensive end of the floor, averaging just 66.7 ppg on a modest .415 shooting. Page provides the veteran leadership, as the senior guard paces the team with 14.4 ppg. The 6-7 Nash is just a freshman, but has shown flashes of brilliant play, netting 13.3 ppg. Brown is a 6-3 sophomore who rounds out the top scoring threats for OSU at 10.7 ppg. Missouri holds a sizeable 75-41 advantage in the all-time series with Oklahoma State, but it is the Cowboys seeking the regular-season sweep after posting a 79-72 upset of the Tigers in Stillwater on January 25th.
Free Pick: I will be going with the UNDER in this one. In the first meeting the teams combined for 151 points, thanks mainly to the 79 points put up by a very average OSU squad. That has not sit well with the Tigers and you can bet they will bring the defensive intensity to this one. Since that loss to the Cowboys, the Tigers have gone 5-0 and have allowed just 62.4 ppg in the process. since that game Missouri games have averaged just 131.8 ppg, while OSU games have averaged just 137.4 ppg over the same stretch. Missouri home games overall have averaged 142.6 ppg, but their conference home games have averaged just 133.5 ppg. On the other side we see that OSU road games have averaged 138 ppg overall, while their Big 12 road games have averaged 140.7 ppg. This game will be all about defensive intensity and while I do expect about 75 from Missouri I can't see or expect more than 61 or 62 form the Cowboys in this one. That still gives us a little buffer, just in case Missouri hangs 80 on them here. I expect this one in the low 130's.
Free Picks: Oklahoma State at Missouri Betting
http://PregameVideos.com - Big revenge game for Missouri and Oklahoma State recently tested by three good teams plus other factors college basketball bettors need to know about Oklahoma State at Missouri (Wednesday, February 15, 2012) from Pregame.com - Including predictions from Bryan Leonard and analysis from host Marco D'Angelo.