Missouri Tigers basketball vs. Oral Roberts: Prediction, TV stream, lineups, bet line
THE DETAILS
When: 6 p.m. Wednesday
Where: Mizzou Arena, Columbia, Missouri
TV: SEC Network Plus or ESPN streaming
Betting line: Missouri by 12
Radio: KMBZ (98.1 FM)
PROJECTED LINEUPS
P | No. | Oral Roberts | Ht. | Yr. | PPG* |
F | 1 | Elijah Lufile | 6-8 | R-Jr. | 5.6 |
F | 0 | Kevin Obanor | 6-8 | R-Jr. | 12.3 |
G | 2 | Kareem Thompson | 6-6 | So. | N/A |
G | 3 | Max Abmas | 6-1 | So. | 14.5 |
G | 4 | Jamie Bergens | 6-2 | Fr. | N/A |
P | No. | Missouri | Ht. | Yr. | PPG* |
F | 23 | Jeremiah Tilmon | 6-10 | Sr. | 8.2 |
F | 24 | Kobe Brown | 6-7 | So. | 5.8 |
G | 13 | Mark Smith | 6-5 | Sr. | 10.0 |
G | 1 | Xavier Pinson | 6-2 | Jr. | 11.1 |
G | 12 | Dru Smith | 6-3 | Sr. | 12.7 |
*stats from last season
About Oral Roberts (17-14, 9-7 Summit League in 2019-20): The Golden Eagles come into the season with a pair of preseason all-conference players in Kevin Obanor and Max Abmas. They’re also picked to finish second in their conference. While they lost their two leading scorers from last season, the Golden Eagles are expecting to compete and potentially push for an NCAA Tournament bid. KenPom has them ranked 204th.
About Missouri (15-16, 7-11 SEC in 2019-20): The Tigers are hoping to get back into the NCAA Tournament conversation in MU coach Cuonzo Martin’s fourth year. They’re one of the oldest teams in the country, featuring depth at nearly every position. But how that talent meshes is Martin’s biggest question mark. Experience is important, yes, especially during a season played during a pandemic. But the Tigers hope that leads to wins, and as Martin said, more scoring after the offense slowed often last year. KenPom ranks them No. 59.
Prediction: The basketball season is finally here and right in time for Thanksgiving, too. Oral Roberts isn’t the best team on Mizzou’s schedule, but it features some intriguing talent and should compete in the Summit League.
Martin said Tuesday the Tigers have tested negative for COVID-19, so the game is seemingly a go from MU’s side. Of course, this is 2020, and it takes two to play, so Oral Roberts’ COVID-19 tests need to be negative, too.
Mizzou should have a chance to tinker with its lineup and smooth out what this team will look like later in the season. The Tigers have so many players who can see the court, but Martin has said he doesn’t want to overextend his rotation, so expect to see some trial and error.
While the bulk of the team is a known commodity, there are still some noteworthy questions coming into the season. There’s a lot of hope and promise put in Xavier Pinson, who finished last season on a tear. Seeing guys like Pinson, Jeremiah Tilmon and Dru Smith take the next step will decide how the Tigers fare in 2020.
We’ll say Mizzou and Oral Roberts battle with the Tigers coming out on top. If MU hopes to make it to the NCAA Tournament, it can’t afford to lose home games to mid-majors.
Missouri 68, Oral Roberts 55