Wednesday night in CBB will see the 2nd ranked Missouri Tigers travel to Stillwater to take on the Oklahoma State Cowboys. The game is scheduled for a 7:30 pm tipoff and will be televised live on Espn2. Currently Missouri is favored by 8.5 points with the total being set at 142 for this game. Coming off their biggest win of the season, the second-ranked Missouri Tigers close out a two-game road trip when they take on the Oklahoma State Cowboys in Big 12 action at Gallagher-Iba Arena in Stillwater.
Free Analysis: The last time Missouri was ranked second in the country, it was in the early weeks of the 2001-02 season — back when Quin Snyder was head coach and that season ended with an Elite 8 appearance. Frank Haith's first season at the helm in Columbia has been hugely successful thus far, as the Tigers have won 18 of their first 19 games. The team had a showdown with another top-five foe this past weekend in Waco, and came out on top in a thrilling 89-88 decision over Baylor. The victory was the fourth straight for Missouri, which moved to 5-1 in conference play. With each victory, the Tigers are looking more and more like legitimate Final Four contenders this season, and it’s largely because of the play of one of the best backcourts in the country. The Tigers aren't the biggest team around, with a four-guard set among the starting five, but they are comfortable in what they do. Missouri is one of the top offensive teams in the country, ranking fourth in scoring (83.4 ppg) and second in field-goal percentage (.509). Marcus Denmon and Kim English are a potent perimeter duo at 17.7 and 14.4 ppg, respectively. Both are shooting over 40 percent from behind the arc and have combined for 98 of the team's 154 three-pointers to date. Ricardo Ratliffe is the top performer in the frontcourt, as the 6-8 senior nets 14.6 ppg and leads the team in rebounding (6.8 rpg), while leading the nation in FG% (.772) and at his current rate, he would break the NCAA mark for field-goal percentage in a season — set by Oregon State’s Steve Johnson, who shot 74.6 percent in 1981. Travis Ford's Cowboys have certainly had their ups and downs this season and the result is a less than stellar 9-10 overall mark. Oklahoma State has really had a tough time in-conference with a mere 2-4 mark. The Cowboys enter this contest with a three-game losing streak in tow, including a 66-58 loss to Kansas State last weekend.Keiton Page leads the team in scoring at 14.9 points and is just 1 of two players that average in double digits on the year (the other is LeBryan Nash, 12.5 ppg). In the loss to KSU he led the Cowboys with 17 but missed 13 of 17 shots. The senior guard played a big role in last season's upset of the Tigers as he and Jean-Paul Olukemi each scored 19 points. The Cowboys are mediocre on offense as they have scored just 65.9 ppg and are 289th in shooting (40.9%), while at the defensive end they have been solid, allowing just 65.8 ppg (147th) on 39.4% shooting (38th). Missouri owns a sizable 75-40 lead in the all-time series with Oklahoma State. Despite the overall lead, the Tigers trail in games played in Stillwater, with the Cowboys holding a 28-21 advantage.
Free Pick: Letdown Huh? Actually I don't expect it to happen. Yes the Tigers are off a big win in Waco over the weekend, but I expect that Frank Haith will have his team ready to play this one. OSU is has lost their last 3 games in a row and one of those games was a 41 point loss to the same Baylor team that Missouri just beat on the road. Hmmmm. Missouri is averaging 77.5 on 49.2% shooting in conference play, while outscoring conference foes by 10 ppg. OSU doesn't nearly have that kind of firepower as they have averaged just 63.2 ppg on a mere 40.45 shooting, they have been outscored by 7.7 ppg in Big 12 action, but most of that is due to the 41 point loss to Baylor. OSU is not a very good team overall and will not be able to match the speed or quickness of Missouri's guards in this one. The Cowboys have the height advantage in this one, but so did Baylor as Missouri proved that their quickness can beat size any day. I look for the winning to continue by the Tigers as they take this one by double digits. KEY TRENDS--- MISSOURI is 8-2 ATS versus good defensive teams - shooting pct defense of <=42% this season and 11-2 ATS after having won 6 or 7 of their last 8 games over the last 2 seasons.
Betting Strategies - College Basketball Home Court Value
Host Vegas Runner and Pregame Pro Bryan Leonard discuss that not all home courts created equal and every conference has different values.