Mizzou Tigers men’s basketball vs. Florida State: Time, TV, lineups, prediction
The details
When: 7 p.m. Central time Monday
Where: UNF Arena, Jacksonville, Florida
TV: CBS Sports Network
Radio: KMBZ (98.1 FM)
Betting line: Florida State by 10
Projected lineups
P | No. | Florida State | Ht. | Yr. | PPG |
F | 11 | Tanor Ngom | 7-2 | Sr. | 6.5 |
F | 10 | Malik Osborne | 6-9 | Sr. | 13.8 |
G | 2 | Anthony Polite | 6-6 | Sr. | 7.8 |
G | 0 | RayQuan Evans | 6-4 | Sr. | 7.0 |
G | 4 | Caleb Mills | 6-5 | So. | 9.5 |
P | No. | Missouri | Ht. | Yr. | PPG |
| C | 32 | Jordan Wilmore | 7-3 | So. | 3.5 |
| F | 24 | Kobe Brown | 6-8 | Jr. | 16.8 |
G | 5 | Amari Davis | 6-2 | Jr. | 8.3 |
G | 12 | DaJuan Gordon | 6-3 | Jr. | 8.0 |
G | 4 | Javon Pickett | 6-5 | Sr. | 9.3 |
About Florida State (3-1): The Seminoles were ranked No. 20 in the preseason AP Top 25 but dropped out of the rankings after a 71-55 defeat in their second game of the year against Florida, which is ranked No. 23. Florida State has beaten Penn, Tulane and most recently, Loyola Marymount 73-45 in its first game of the Jacksonville Classic on Sunday. Leonard Hamilton, 73, has established himself as one of the best coaches in the country, and his teams are known for playing stout defense that suffocates opponents. Florida State is the tallest team in the country, according to KenPom, with an astonishing four players over 7-foot-1: 7-2 Tanor Ngom, 7-foot Quincy Ballard, 7-1 John Butler and 7-4 Naheem McLeod. The Seminoles have a ton of depth too, with 11 players currently averaging at least 10 minutes per game (though two of those players haven’t appeared in all four games). KenPom ranks Florida State No. 27.
About Missouri (3-1): The Tigers overcame a 13-point deficit to take down SMU in overtime, 80-75, in its first game of the tournament. Mizzou has continued to look lost at times offensively, failing to reach 25 points in the first half of each of the last three games, but it did fare better in the second half and overtime against the Mustangs. KenPom ranks Missouri No. 112.
Prediction
The competition keeps getting stiffer for Mizzou. After facing their best opponent of the season yet in SMU, which was ranked 60th by KenPom entering Sunday’s matchup, the Tigers have a tough task ahead as they square up against a top-30 team in Florida State.
Though this will count as a neutral game, this will essentially be Missouri’s first road test of 2021-22. Florida State’s campus is less than three hours away from UNF Arena and the gym was packed with Seminoles fans when they took on Loyola Marymount on Sunday. That’s a challenge in itself, but throw in the fact that there weren’t many fans in the stands last season and that becomes an even more difficult adjustment.
The Seminoles have a deep team to begin with, but their players will be well-rested after Hamilton cleared out the bench in their win over Loyola Marymount. No starter played over 24 minutes for Florida State in the win, whereas the Missouri players could be a bit tired after completing a comeback effort in overtime. It’ll be interesting to see how much of a factor that plays.
But even with elements of crowd noise and energy notwithstanding, the fact of the matter is that Florida State is flat out the better team with a ton of talent and experience. It’s hard to picture a scenario in which the Tigers win this game. KenPom gives them a 20% chance and the ESPN BPI has it at 28.9%. This contest will be a big indicator of where Mizzou stands as a program.
Florida State 72, Missouri 59
