SEC Basketball Preview/Prediction: Missouri at Kentucky

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Missouri visits Kentucky on Saturday in a key SEC basketball matchup. Look inside for a preview of the game along with a prediction of the game’s final score.

By 14Powers Hoops

Team Statistical Comparison

	FG%	3PT%	FT%	ORB	TRB	AST	STL	BLK	TO
Missouri	0.405	0.295	0.687	319	1084	343	213	91	459
Missouri OPP	0.418	0.356	0.683	314	1097	420	216	112	466
Kentucky	0.478	0.360	0.739	350	1159	416	183	152	384
Kentucky OPP	0.403	0.352	0.701	282	892	336	169	90	391

Statistical Leaders

Missouri Scoring Leaders

PLAYER	PPG	FGM	FTM	3PTM
Dru Smith	11.8	45	43	8
Mark Smith	11.8	45	22	30
Jeremiah Tilmon	9.2	40	20	1
Xavier Pinson	8.3	31	31	6
Javon Pickett	7.8	38	12	6
Kobe Brown	5.3	27	3	6
Torrence Watson	4.9	19	4	17
Mitchell Smith	4.0	17	4	6
Tray Jackson	2.0	7	5	1
Reed Nikko	1.7	8	3	0

Missouri Rebounding Leaders

PLAYER	OR	DR	TR	RPG
Mark Smith	6	53	59	4.9
Dru Smith	16	40	56	4.7
Javon Pickett	23	31	54	4.5
Jeremiah Tilmon	21	27	48	4.4
Mitchell Smith	8	33	41	3.7
Kobe Brown	11	27	38	3.2
Xavier Pinson	8	22	30	2.5
Tray Jackson	4	16	20	2.0
Reed Nikko	12	9	21	1.9
Torrence Watson	1	15	16	1.3

Kentucky Scoring Leaders

PLAYER	PPG	FGM	FTM	3PTM
Tyrese Maxey	14.3	55	45	16
Ashton Hagans	13.4	50	53	8
Nick Richards	12.0	57	30	0
Immanuel Quickley	11.7	39	37	14
EJ Montgomery	8.3	35	4	1
Nate Sestina	7.4	21	17	8
Keion Brooks Jr.	6.1	30	10	3
Kahlil Whitney	4.8	22	9	4
Johnny Juzang	1.7	6	6	2

Kentucky Rebounding Leaders

PLAYER	OR	DR	TR	RPG
Nick Richards	29	57	86	7.2
EJ Montgomery	15	37	52	5.8
Nate Sestina	15	36	51	5.7
Tyrese Maxey	3	49	52	4.3
Ashton Hagans	4	43	47	3.9
Keion Brooks Jr.	14	28	42	3.5
Immanuel Quickley	7	31	38	3.5
Kahlil Whitney	13	15	28	2.3
Johnny Juzang	5	19	24	2.0

NCAA RPI

Missouri: 52

Kentucky: 41

Missouri Roster

No.	Name	Pos.	HT	WT	Class	City-State
0	Torrence Watson	G	6′-5″	205	SO	St. Louis, MO
1	Xavier Pinson	G	6′-2″	170	SO	Chicago, IL
2	Tray Jackson	F	6′-8″	215	FR	Detroit, MI
4	Javon Pickett	G	6′-5″	220	SO	Belleville, IL
5	Mitchell Smith	F	6′-10″	221	JR	Van Buren, AR
10	Evan Yerkes	G	6′-3″	187	SO	Tinley Park, IL
11	Mario McKinney Jr.	G	6′-2″	185	FR	St. Louis, MO
12	Dru Smith	G	6′-3″	203	JR	Evansville, IN
13	Mark Smith	G	6′-5″	220	JR	Edwardsville, IL
14	Reed Nikko	F	6′-10″	240	SR	Maple Grove, MN
15	Axel Okongo	F	7′-0″	240	JR	Saacy-sur-Marne, France
23	Jeremiah Tilmon	F	6′-10″	260	JR	East Saint Louis, IL
24	Kobe Brown	F	6′-7″	240	FR	Huntsville, AL
25	Brooks Ford	G	6′-0″	187	SO	St. Louis, MO
42	Parker Braun	F	6′-8″	217	FR	Overland Park, KS

Kentucky Roster

No.	Name	Pos.	HT	WT	Class	City-State
0	Ashton Hagans	G	6′-3″	198	SO	Cartersville, GA
1	Nate Sestina	F	6′-9″	234	SR	Emporium, PA
2	Kahlil Whitney	F	6′-6″	210	FR	Chicago, IL
3	Tyrese Maxey	G	6′-3″	198	FR	Garland, TX
4	Nick Richards	F	6′-11″	247	JR	Kingston, Jamaica
5	Immanuel Quickley	G	6′-3″	188	SO	Havre De Grace, MD
10	Johnny Juzang	G	6′-6″	214	FR	Los Angeles, CA
11	Dontaie Allen	G	6′-6″	200	FR	Falmouth, KY
12	Keion Brooks Jr.	F	6′-7″	205	FR	Fort Wayne, IN
13	Riley Welch	G	6′-0″	185	JR	Littleton, CO
14	Brennan Canada	F	6′-6″	198	FR	Mount Sterling, KY
21	Zan Payne	G	6′-4″	235	FR	Lexington, KY
23	EJ Montgomery	F	6′-10″	228	SO	Fort Pierce, FL
33	Ben Jordan	F	6′-9″	250	SO	Olive Hill, KY

Scouting Report

Kentucky 9-3 (0-0) SEC hosts Missouri 8-4 (0-0 SEC) in the SEC opener for both teams. Kentucky looks like its normal early season shaky self. UK has a huge win over rival Louisville and a stinker loss to Evansville. This is the way it is early on for John Calipari while his freshmen stars get the feel for college ball. Missouri has a big road win over Temple on its resume. Other than a stunner loss to Charleston Southern the Tigers have been fairly competitive. Two guards named Smith lead the Tigers in scoring. To make matters even more confusing, there is a third Smith, a big Smith named Mitchell who plays center. Freshman (surprise!) guard Tyrese Maxey leads the Cats in scoring at 14.3 ppg. Maxey is a 3-point shooting specialist but UK as a team is only hitting 29% of its treys, good for 12th in the SEC. Missouri hangs its hat on scoring defense. They are No. 1 in the SEC in that category, allowing just 55 ppg but the Tigers are third from the bottom in scoring offense (68.0 ppg). These two teams are about even at this point but Kentucky should win in raucous Rupp.

Missouri-Kentucky Prediction

Kentucky 62, Missouri 54