Missouri Tigers basketball vs. Auburn: Time, TV, lineups and a prediction
When/where: 7:30 p.m. Wednesday at Auburn Arena, Auburn, Ala.
TV/radio: SEC Network; KMBZ (98.1 FM)
Projected lineups:
P | No. | Missouri | Ht. | Yr. | PPG |
C | 23 | Jeremiah Tilmon | 6-10 | So. | 10.2 |
F | 24 | Kevin Puryear | 6-7 | Sr. | 8.2 |
F | 4 | Javon Pickett | 6-4 | Fr. | 8.1 |
G | 15 | Jordan Geist | 6-2 | Sr. | 13.9 |
G | 13 | Mark Smith | 6-4 | So. | 12.6 |
P | No. | Auburn | Ht. | Yr. | PPG |
F | 5 | Chuma Okeke | 6-8 | So. | 10.4 |
F | 24 | Anfernee McLemore | 6-7 | Jr. | 6.9 |
G | 10 | Samir Doughty | 6-4 | Jr. | 8.2 |
G | 2 | Bryce Brown | 6-3 | Sr. | 16.9 |
G | 1 | Jared Harper | 5-11 | Jr. | 15.3 |
About Missouri (10-8, 1-5 SEC): The Tigers head to Auburn fresh off one of their worst losses under Cuonzo Martin. Missouri blew a 14-point lead in the final 2 miinutes, 14 seconds against then-No. 25 LSU and lost in overtime. Jeremiah Tilmon played a career-high 35 minutes against Will Wade’s Tigers and scored 15 points while Jordan Geist scored a season-high 25 points. Cuonzo Martin said on Tuesday that he expects sophomore Mark Smith to play after he missed Saturday’s game because of an ankle injury.
About Auburn (13-6, 2-4 SEC): Bruce Pearl’s Tigers have had an interesting season after making the NCAA Tournament. Auburn enters Wednesday’s game on a three-game losing streak and hasn’t beaten a team ranked ahead of it all season. Pearl’s team is incredible at forcing turnovers, as Auburn is No. 1 on KenPom in defensive turnover percentage. The team will be without star center Austin Wiley, who has missed the last three games because of a left leg injury. Wiley is averaging 10.8 points and 6.1 rebounds a game.
Prediction: This couldn’t be a worse matchup for Missouri. Auburn is incredible at forcing turnovers and Missouri’s biggest weakness is ball security. Pearl’s Tigers turn over Missouri more than 25 times in a blowout loss. Auburn 80, Missouri 60
This story was originally published January 29, 2019 at 3:40 PM.