Missouri Tigers vs. Central Florida: Tipoff time, TV, projected lineups and a prediction
When/where: 2 p.m. Sunday at Mizzou Arena in Columbia
TV/radio: ESPNU; KMBZ (98.1 FM)
Projected Lineups:
P | No. | Missouri | Ht. | Yr. | PPG |
G | 13 | Mark Smith | 6-4 | So. | 12.8 |
G | 15 | Jordan Geist | 6-2 | Sr. | 12.5 |
F | 4 | Javon Pickett | 6-4 | Fr. | 5.3 |
F | 24 | Kevin Puryear | 6-7 | Sr. | 11.2 |
C | 23 | Jeremiah Tilmon | 6-10 | So. | 9.2 |
P | No. | Central Florida | Ht. | Yr. | PPG |
G | 1 | B.J. Taylor | 6-2 | Sr. | 16.7 |
G | 2 | Terrell Allen | 6-3 | Sr. | 9.7 |
G | 15 | Aubrey Dawkins | 6-6 | Jr. | 15.3 |
F | 35 | Collin Smith | 6-11 | Sr. | 6 |
C | 24 | Tacko Fall | 7-6 | Sr. | 11.4 |
About Missouri (3-3): Coming off a 79-77 loss to Temple on Tuesday, Missouri faces an even bigger challenge in the Knights. Missouri got good offensive production against the Owls with four scorers in double-figures. Jeremiah Tilmon finished with 14 points and 10 rebounds with all of his rebounds and 10 of his points coming in the second half. Mark Smith had 19 points and Kevin Puryear added 16. Missouri had 15 turnovers, which led to 20 Temple points, which continues to be an issue for MU.
About Central Florida (6-1): The Knights are a much different team from the one Missouri beat in Orlando last season. Central Florida added Aubrey Dawkins and B.J. Taylor, two of its leading scorers, after lacking both last season because of injury troubles. Tacko Fall, the 7-foot-6 giant, is back for his senior year after testing NBA Draft waters and is always a double-double threat, but Tilmon matched up well last season. Starting guard Terrell Allen is a three-point threat: he’s shooting 61 percent from behind the arc.
Prediction: Missouri nearly beat a Temple team picked a few spots below the Knights in the same conference and barely beat UCF last year. Missouri had more firepower last year while UCF had less. This year the roles are reversed. The Tigers drop another close game despite another double-double from Tilmon. UCF 75, Missouri 69
Alex Schiffer
Alex Schiffer covers University of Missouri athletics for The Star.
