Missouri Tigers vs Oklahoma Sooners Prediction, 3/20/2021 College Basketball Pick, Tips and Odds

Game: Missouri Tigers vs Oklahoma Sooners

Date: Saturday, March 20, 2021

Location: Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis, IN

TV: TNT

Odds/Point Spread: Missouri (+2)

The Oklahoma Sooners (15-10) play the Missouri Tigers (16-9) at Lucas Oil Stadium on Saturday in the NCAA Tournament. The line on this game has Oklahoma as 2-point favorites. The total has been set at 141.

Missouri comes into this contest with a record of 16-9 for the year. They are averaging 73.6 points per contest (113th in Division 1) while hitting 44.9% from the field. The Tigers are shooting 32.0% on shots from 3-point land (173 of 540) and 69.8% from the charity stripe. As a team, Missouri is grabbing 35.7 boards per game and has totaled 330 assists on the campaign, which ranks 145th in the country in terms of passing. They are losing possession via turnover 13.4 times per game and as a team they commit 19.8 fouls on a nightly basis. When they are on the defensive end, the Tigers have forced 13.1 turnovers on a nightly basis while drawing 19.1 fouls. They give up 32.8% on shots from beyond the perimeter and they are 222nd in Division 1 in PPG from their opponents (71.9). The Tigers defense is giving up a field goal percentage of 43.1% (631 of 1,463) and they concede 35.4 boards per contest as a squad. They currently rank 136th in the country in giving up assists to their opponents with 282 relinquished on the campaign.

The Missouri Tigers faced the Arkansas Razorbacks and took a loss by a score of 70-64 in their last game. Missouri ended the game with a 42.3% FG percentage (22 of 52) and buried 6 of their 18 shots from 3-point land. When they shot from the charity stripe, the Tigers knocked down 14 of their 21 tries for a percentage of 66.7%. In reference to pulling down rebounds, they collected 28 with 5 of them being on the offensive end. They also recorded 11 assists for the game while forcing the opposition into 20 turnovers and getting 9 steals. In reference to defense, Missouri allowed their opponent to shoot 45.5% from the floor on 25 out of 55 shooting. Arkansas earned 13 dimes and had 5 steals in this contest. Additionally, Arkansas collected 31 boards (7 offensive, 24 defensive) and got 5 blocked shots. Arkansas walked away from this one shooting 68.2% from the charity stripe by burying 15 of their 22 attempts. They made 5 out of their 15 attempts from beyond the arc.

Xavier Pinson is a guy who was a contributor in this contest. He accounted for 14 points on 5 out of 10 shooting. He saw the court for 25 mins played and also pulled down 2 rebounds. Pinson finished 50.0% from the field and dished out 2 assists. An additional guy that played a role in the matchup for the Tigers was Dru Smith. He grabbed 1 rebound in 38 min on the court. He finished the game at 40.0% from the field for this contest by shooting 4-of-10 (11 points). When the final whistle blew, Smith totaled 5 assists.

Oklahoma has a mark of 15-10 for the campaign. The Sooners commit 14.4 personal fouls per contest while shooting 74.4% from the charity stripe. They are dishing out assists 13.4 times per contest (151st in D-1) and they are turning it over 11.1 times per game. Oklahoma has 1,869 points so far this season (74.8 per contest) and they pull in 36.3 boards per game. As an offensive unit, the Sooners are shooting 44.2% from the field, which has them ranked 182nd in the nation. The Sooners defensively are ranked 144th in the country in PPG surrendered with 69.2. They have conceded 12.0 dimes and 36.3 boards every game, which has them ranked 98th and 242nd in D-1. The Oklahoma defense surrenders 35.4% on shots from beyond the arc (204 of 576) and their opponents are knocking down 73.5% of their shots from the charity stripe. They are forcing their opponents into 13.2 turnovers per game and allow teams to shoot 42.1% from the floor (113th in college basketball).

The last time they took the hardwood, the Oklahoma Sooners took a defeat with a final score of 69-62 when they played the Kansas Jayhawks. The Sooners pulled down 24 defensive rebounds and 6 offensive rebounds totaling 30 in the matchup. They also turned it over 18 times, while earning 7 steals for this game. The Jayhawks were called for 10 personal fouls in this game which got the Sooners to the charity stripe for a total of 10 tries. They were able to make 7 of the free throw tries for a percentage of 70.0%. When talking about shots from beyond the perimeter, Oklahoma converted 9 of 18 tries (50.0%). When the final whistle was blown, the Sooners ended up going 23 out of 49 from the field which gave them a shooting percentage of 46.9%. The Sooners permitted the Jayhawks to knock down 26 of 56 attempts from the field which gave them a shooting percentage of 46.4% for this contest. They finished 36.4% from 3-point land by shooting 8 out of 22 and finished the contest at 9 out of 11 at the charity stripe (81.8%). When it comes to team rebounding, Oklahoma permitted Kansas to collect 26 overall (5 offensive).

Austin Reaves was important for the Sooners in the matchup. He made 6 of 15 in the game for a rate of 40.0%, and had 7 rebounds. Reaves tallied 19 points in his 38 minutes of playing time and had 3 dimes for the game. One more player who came through for Oklahoma was Brady Manek. He ended up with 2 assists in 32 minutes on the court, and he knocked down 7 out of 12 from the floor. Manek wrapped this one up going 58.3% from the field while contributing 19 points and 6 boards.

Who will win tonight's college basketball game against the spread?

Guy Bruhn's Pick: Take Oklahoma (-2)

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