The Tigers are one of three unbeaten teams left in the Big
12 standings and should remain undefeated with an easy win over Northwestern
State on Friday. Missouri has been one of the most impressive teams through the
early stages of the college basketball season.
A dominant 6-0 start has helped the Tigers reach #13 in the
AP poll and provided NCAA basketball bettors with some joy. They've won all six of those games by double-digits and their average
margin of victory thus far is 24.9 points.
Last weekend Missouri beat up on Binghamton at home, winning
88-59. Kim English was on fire, hitting seven 3-pointers en-route to a
game-high 29 points.
Ricardo Ratliffe added 18 points and five boards in the
convincing victory, while Marcus Denmon (13 points, 4 boards, 3 steals) and
Phil Pressey (11 assists, 5 rebounds, 3 steals) also had productive games.
Demons no match for Missouri
Here on Friday, the Tigers will be clamoring for another
smooth ride at home against Northwestern State.
NCAA basketball odds for the game had not been released, but
we all know that Missouri will be favored by a huge margin.
The Demons are currently 4-3 SU on the season after beating
Arkansas Little Rock by 15 on Tuesday. The spark came from James Hulbin, who
scored 20 points off the bench to help his team snap a three-game losing
streak.
Hulbin (9.6 PPG) has been contributing for the Demons, as
has Shamir Davis who leads the team in scoring at a 12.3 PPG clip. William
Mosley has been the main force on the glass for Northwestern Sttate, pulling
down 9.9 rebounds a contest.
It's going to take a herculean effort from these significant NCAA basketball betting underdogs to hang with Missouri, though.
Some believed the Tigers would take a step back this season
after losing Mike Anderson to Arkansas. It didn't help when Laurence Bowers,
one of Mizzou's best big men, tore his ACL before the season even started.
But Missouri, which was able to keep most of their core from
last year, have looked excellent under new coach Frank Haith.
Instead of the run-and-gun offense that Anderson had
installed in Columbia, the Tigers have slowed down their approach now but are
still seeing fantastic results.
One last tuneup for the Tigers
Scoring remains a non-issue as the team, under Haith's
direction, is averaging 85.7 points per game while allowing only 58.8 PPG on
the other end.
Much like the Florida Gators, the Tigers have excelled
because of a loaded backcourt.
Marcus Denmon leads the team with 18.5 PPG, but is closely
followed by Kim English who's putting up 18.2 PPG. Then, Michael Dixon and the
Pressey brothers (Phil and Matt) also get a lot of minutes out on the
perimeter.
The only thing really lacking for Missouri is size. Ratliffe
is the top rebounder for the team but is only 6'8”. Still, the lack of a true inside
presence hasn't hurt the Tigers so far, has it?
Red-hot shooting from Haith's men has helped their cause in
destroying solid teams such as Notre Dame and California already this season.
Denmon, English, and Ratliffe – all three of which are seniors – are playing
lights out right now.
This is the last game for Missouri before they travel to New
York City to participate in the Jimmy V Classic where they'll first play
Villanova.
But I don't expect the Tigers to look ahead. They should run
up and down the Demons all night and should continue their streak of
double-digit wins.
FREE Pick: Missouri