Oral Roberts-Missouri college basketball preview
.jpg "Valparaiso's Jubril Adekoya, center, has his shot blocked by Missouri's Keanau Post, left, as D'Angelo Allen, right, defends during the second half of an NCAA college basketball game Sunday, Nov. 16, 2014, in Columbia, Mo. Missouri won the game 56-41.")
P | No. | Missouri | Ht. | Yr. | PPG |
F | 3 | Johnathan Williams III | 6-9 | So. | 8.0 |
F | 44 | Ryan Rosburg | 6-10 | Jr. | 3.5 |
G | 13 | Montaque Gill-Caesar | 6-6 | Fr. | 15.0 |
G | 14 | Keith Shamburger | 5-11 | Sr. | 6.5 |
G | 15 | Wes Clark | 6-0 | So. | 14.5 |
P | No. | Oral Roberts | Ht. | Yr. | PPG |
F | 5 | Brandon Conley | 6-6 | Sr. | 1.0 |
G | 1 | Bobby Word | 6-4 | So. | 14.0 |
G | 15 | Obi Emegano | 6-3 | Jr. | 26.0 |
G | 22 | Adrion Webber | 6-6 | Sr. | 10.0 |
G | 24 | Korey Billbury | 6-3 | Jr. | 18.0 |
▪ WHEN/WHERE: 7 p.m. Wednesday at Mizzou Arena in Columbia
▪ TV/RADIO: No TV (available online on SEC Network+ via WatchESPN); KMBZ (980 AM)
▪ ABOUT ORAL ROBERTS (1-0): The Golden Eagles upended former Missouri coach Frank Haith’s Tulsa squad 77-68 on Saturday in its season opener. Junior Obi Emegano’s 18 second-half points powered Oral Roberts, which got beat on the boards 44-36 and allowed 19 offensive rebounds against Tulsa. Emegano and junior Korey Billbury were a combined 26 of 35 at the free-throw line.
▪ ABOUT MISSOURI (1-1): Defense led the Tigers to the first win of the Kim Anderson era Sunday, a 56-41 victory against Valparaiso. The Tigers’ opponents are shooting only 35 percent from the field on the season, but Missouri needs to find an identity on offense. MU lacks a true shooter and big-time scoring threat inside. The Tigers, as a result, are shooting only 38.9 percent and 22.5 percent from three-point range.
▪ BOTTOM LINE: Believe it or not, many people believe that Valparaiso is a better team than UMKC. Of course, Oral Roberts is probably better than Valparaiso, too. Missouri leads the all-time series 6-1, but coach Scott Sutton’s squad pulled off a 60-59 upset Dec. 9, 2009, so the Eagles know a victory is possible.
| Tod Palmer, tpalmer@kcstar.com
This story was originally published November 18, 2014 at 2:51 PM with the headline "Oral Roberts-Missouri college basketball preview."