It was a rare night off in the world of SEC basketball on Thursday, and many teams around the league are preparing for the stretch run of non-conference play.
There’s only one conference team in action on Friday, as Missouri will return to the court riding a two-game winning streak.
Let’s get to the pick.
Season Predictions Record (straight up): 83-18
Oral Roberts (3-8) at Missouri (5-3) – 7 p.m. EST, SEC Network
Cuonzo Martin’s group has started to find a bit of a rhythm after struggling early on due to the season-ending injury to Jontay Porter.
The Tigers have bounced back from their home loss to Temple by earning an overtime win over UCF and a blowout victory over UT Arlington.
And surprisingly, they’re using perimeter scoring to fuel their wins. Missouri currently ranks at the top of the SEC in 3-point field-goal percentage, and the team is getting 37.8 percent of its points from beyond the arc (54th nationally).
Mark Smith and Jordan Geist continue to lead the way in that area, and they should once again be huge assets against an Oral Roberts team that is ranked 302nd nationally in allowing opponents to shoot 38.0 percent from long range.
Of course, the Golden Eagles are having defensive struggles across the board, as they are 330th nationally in defensive efficiency.
Oral Roberts has just one win against Division I competition this season in grabbing a 78-69 overtime victory over James Madison, and that just isn’t a positive trend heading into Columbia.
The Tigers are playing with much more confidence right now, and they should grind out another win.
Prediction: Missouri 75, Oral Roberts 58
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