Tennessee State at No. 12 Missouri

•  WHEN/WHERE: 2 p.m. today at Mizzou Arena in Columbia

•  TV/RADIO: Metro Sports; KMBZ (980 AM, 98.1 FM)

•  ABOUT MISSOURI (7-1): The Tigers are coming off an 81-65 win over Southeast Missouri State in which they actually trailed by 10 at halftime but rallied back to win thanks to a 48-28 rebounding advantage and a huge night by senior forward Laurence Bowers, who dropped in a career-high 26 points. Missouri also got 17 points and six rebounds from junior point guard Phil Pressey, who uncharacteristically shot 4 of 18 from the field.

•  ABOUT TENNESSEE STATE (4-5): The Tennessee State Tigers fell one game short of reaching the NCAA Tournament last year, when they were good enough to topple another SEC foe — South Carolina — by one point early in the season. Their record this year is middling so far, but they have won three games in a row. The Tigers feature a consistent inside presence in 6-foot-9 senior forward Robert Covington. It’s also worth noting that Tennessee State, like Southeast Missouri, is a member of the Ohio Valley Conference. TSU was picked to finish second in the conference’s East division, while SEMO was picked to finish second in the West.

•  BOTTOM LINE: Expect Missouri to head into finals week with a bang. Missouri’s next game isn’t until Dec. 17, so Missouri should be ready to let it all hang out in this one. MU should also be motivated to turn in a solid performance after their scare against SEMO.