No. 4 Tennessee Basketball vs. No. 15 Missouri: How to Watch, Prediction, Preview

Photo By Andrew Ferguson/Tennessee Athletics

Tennessee basketball is looking to build off its top five win over Florida as it concludes a three-game home stand against No. 15 Missouri on Wednesday night in Knoxville.

The Tigers are one of the SEC’s most improved teams and enter Wednesday night’s matchup in sole possession of third place in the SEC.

Here’s everything to know about the top 15 matchup.

More From RTI: Tennessee Basketball Back On One-Line In Latest Bracketology Update

How To Watch — No. 4 Tennessee (18-4, 5-4 SEC) vs. No. 15 Missouri (17-4, 6-2 SEC)

  • Start Time: 7 p.m. ET/6 p.m. CT
  • Location: Thompson-Boling Arena at Food City Center
  • Watch: SEC Network. PxP: Rot Philpott, CC: Jimmy Dykes
  • Online Streaming: Watch ESPN
  • Radio (Knoxville): The Vol Network/The Vol Network App

Betting Lines

FanDuel Sportsbook

  • Tennessee -9.5 Missouri
  • Over/under 134.5

KenPom

  • Tennessee -9 Missouri
  • Over/under: 133

What Tennessee AC Gregg Polinsky Said About The Tigers

On Missouri’s turnaround after going 0-18 in the SEC last season

“Well, I mean, last year was a brutal year for them. A lot of injuries, et cetera. They are playing great basketball. I think in the month of January they have been the top offensive team in the country. Their defense has always been really good, chaotic in an organized fashion, so they’re a very difficult matchup. But they’re really improved. It’s a really good basketball team.”

On what challenges are presented by Missouri’s Caleb Grill, who is shooting 49.0% from the 3-point line this season 

“From behind the arc, you mean almost at half court? That’s a real issue. You guys probably are all too young in here to remember Alex Dillard that played at Arkansas, (shooting) from the nose of the pig. That is what you’re looking at. And he reminded me, he was from Bessemer, Alabama, and at the time I was (coaching) at that word we all like here, Alabama. So (Grill has) got great range. I think the most impressive thing is his ability to balance himself on his shot — shot prep, quick release. He’s just a really tough cover because you can play really good defense and his offense might be better.”

On Missouri shooting well from three but also playing through Mark Mitchell in the post

“I think when you have like size and a guy like that that is strong physically, but also like very mobile, versatile, it makes it tough to manage. Like how are we going to guard all these other guys? They space the floor, they lift the floor. There’s area to cut. Kentucky obviously does some of that, or a lot of that. Mitchell’s just a little more fluid probably than (Amari) Williams at Kentucky. Williams is bigger, more of a rebounder. Mitchell is capable of putting ball the floor and creating plays. So it’s a real issue. We’re going to have to be really sharp defensively. Our communication will have to be top notch, but it’s very challenging.”

On Missouri’s Caleb Grill dramatically increasing his shooting percentage, how rare it is

“It’s impressive. I mean, as we prepared for Florida in the second game, I watched that game down there. He was phenomenal. I mean, the shots he was making off of movement were NBAish. It’s rare but it happens to have that uptick and the thing is, can a guy like that do it again next year? I don’t know if there is next year for him, but can he do it again at the next level? I know we used to look at that a lot (when he was a NBA scout). Is it a one year thing? But it doesn’t matter because right now he’s doing it and he’s doing it at a high level.”

Probable Starters

Tennessee (via UT Game Notes):

Missouri (via last game):

Team Statistics (via KenPom)

Tennessee:

Missouri:

Individual Stat Leaders

Tennessee:

Points: Chaz Lanier — 17.9 PPG, 41.2 FG%, 42.2 3PT%

Rebounds: Igor Milicic — 8.1 RPG, 5.9 DRPG, 2.2 ORPG

Assists: Zakai Zeigler — 7.4 APG, 3.0 TOPG, 34.4 MPG

Missouri:

Points: Tamar Bates — 13.5 PPG, 52.7 FG%, 39.5 3PT%

Rebounds: Josh Gray — 5.1 RPG, 3.4 DRPG, 1.7 ORPG

Assists: Anthony Robinson II — 3.6 APG, 1.9 TOPG, 24.2 MPG

Last Five Games

Tennessee:

  • 64-44 win versus Florida
  • 78-73 loss versus Kentucky
  • 53-51 loss at Auburn
  • 68-56 win versus Mississippi State
  • 76-75 loss at Vanderbilt

Missouri

  • 88-61 win at Mississippi State
  • 83-75 win versus Ole Miss
  • 61-53 loss at Texas
  • 83-65 win versus Arkansas
  • 83-82 win at Florida

Prediction

After defeating Florida undermanned on Saturday, Tennessee is back fully healthy as they prepare to face a much improved Missouri team.

The Tigers have been playing an incredibly high level on the offensive end and they get it done similarly to Kentucky. Missouri has balanced offensive production and shoots the ball extremely well from the perimeter. The difference in 6-foot-9 forward Mark Mitchell who can scorer inside.

While the Kentucky similarities give pause, Missouri has not been very good on the glass. Tennessee should be able to dominate the glass at home. Tennessee wins but closer than they think in the desert.

Tennessee 73, Missouri 67

Similar Articles

Comments

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *