Missouri Tigers vs. Oklahoma Sooners Betting Preview

Written by superuser | March 17, 2021

Missouri Tigers vs. Oklahoma Sooners Betting Preview

 

The Missouri Tigers will take on the Oklahoma Sooners in a Saturday first-round matchup of the NCAA tournament. The eight and nine seeds in the West region will be fighting for the opportunity (presumably) to knock off the overall number one seed in the tournament, the Gonzaga Bulldogs.

Both teams struggled to close the season but managed to make the tournament in fairly safe fashion. The Sooners closed the season with a record of 15-10 overall and a 9-8 mark in the Big 12 Conference.

MARCH MADNESS 2021 BETTING

The Tigers finished with a 16-9 record overall and an 8-8 record in the Southeastern Conference. Both teams were knocked out of their conference tournaments in the second round.

The tip-off is scheduled for 7:25 pm ET on Saturday at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis.

Oklahoma Needs To Find Form

The best bettors know that at one point during the season, the Sooners were regarded as one of the best 15 teams in the nation. They were rolling through Big 12 conference play posting an 8-1 record over a nine-game stretch.

Their only loss during that run was against Texas Tech on the road without star guard Austin Reaves. While Reaves played incredibly well upon returning, the Sooners struggled and closed the season, losing five of their final six.

The Sooners were a solid team at home this season but were just 5-7 straight up in road games. The total went over in half of those games.

We picked another winner our last time out. Go see our Texas Tech at Baylor betting preview.

Tigers Have To Find Their Teeth

There are few things sadder than a big cat that is seemingly worn out. That is what seems to have happened to the Tigers since the calendar flipped to February. Similar to Oklahoma, Missouri closed the season ice cold, winning just three of its final nine games.

Center Jeremiah Tilmon missed a couple of games in the middle of February and has really struggled since returning. The 6-11 senior has averaged just 10.7 points and 4.8 rebounds over the final six games. He averaged 12.8 points and 7.9 rebounds per game through Missouri’s first 17 matchups.

While his free-throw percentage has improved tremendously, his field-goal percentage has also gone down a tick.

The Tigers were just 1-4 against the spread in their final five games of the season. But they were 8-5 straight-up in games played away from home. Historically, the Tigers have performed well against Oklahoma, covering the spread in 13 of their last 19 matchups.

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The Pick

Both of these teams have tremendous talent all over the floor. Tilmon vs. Brady Manek is a nice matchup.

Reaves and De’Vion Harmon make up a tremendous backcourt for coach Lon Kruger. But they will have their hands full with Xavier Pinson, Dru Smith, and Mark Smith.

Manek has been underwhelming all season, however, and Tilmon is way overdue for a big game. In a game between two teams limping into the tournament, look to the coaching.

Kruger is the coach to lean on here.

Take Oklahoma to move on.