SEC Basketball Preview/Prediction: Tennessee at Missouri

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Tennessee visits Missouri on Tuesday 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
Tennessee	0.426	0.318	0.738	136	483	205	81	70	175
Tennessee OPP	0.392	0.344	0.668	117	428	129	93	39	175
Missouri	0.431	0.301	0.739	138	475	155	99	40	188
Missouri OPP	0.365	0.259	0.762	111	414	118	72	36	201

Statistical Leaders

Tennessee Scoring Leaders

PLAYER	PPG	FGM	FTM	3PTM
Lamonte Turner	12.3	40	44	11
Jordan Bowden	12.2	54	26	24
Yves Pons	11.7	58	21	15
John Fulkerson	11.2	59	27	0
Josiah-Jordan James	7.7	34	20	12
Olivier Nkamhoua	4.8	28	6	1
Davonte Gaines	3.8	10	22	3
Jalen Johnson	2.4	11	3	6

Tennessee Rebounding Leaders

PLAYER	OR	DR	TR	RPG
Josiah-Jordan James	17	60	77	5.9
Yves Pons	18	48	66	5.1
John Fulkerson	22	43	65	5.0
Olivier Nkamhoua	24	35	59	4.5
Jordan Bowden	4	50	54	4.2
Lamonte Turner	7	32	39	3.5
Jalen Johnson	6	20	26	2.0
Davonte Gaines	6	17	23	1.9

Missouri Scoring Leaders

PLAYER	PPG	FGM	FTM	3PTM
Dru Smith	11.7	50	43	9
Mark Smith	11.5	47	23	32
Jeremiah Tilmon	9.0	42	23	1
Xavier Pinson	8.0	33	31	7
Javon Pickett	7.7	40	14	6
Kobe Brown	5.5	31	3	7
Torrence Watson	4.9	21	4	18
Mitchell Smith	3.8	17	6	6
Tray Jackson	2.0	7	5	1
Reed Nikko	1.9	10	3	0

Missouri Rebounding Leaders

PLAYER	OR	DR	TR	RPG
Mark Smith	6	56	62	4.8
Dru Smith	16	43	59	4.5
Javon Pickett	23	33	56	4.3
Jeremiah Tilmon	23	28	51	4.3
Mitchell Smith	8	34	42	3.5
Kobe Brown	13	28	41	3.2
Xavier Pinson	8	22	30	2.3
Tray Jackson	4	16	20	2.0
Reed Nikko	13	11	24	2.0
Torrence Watson	1	18	19	1.5

NCAA RPI

Tennessee: 84

Missouri: 62

Tennessee Roster

No.	Name	Pos.	HT	WT	Class	City-State
0	Davonte Gaines	G	6′-7″	178	FR	Buffalo, NY
1	Lamonte Turner	G	6′-2″	187	SR	Florence, AL
3	Drew Pember	F	6′-9″	207	FR	Knoxville, TN
4	Jacob Fleschman	G	6′-3″	176	JR	Austin, TX
5	Josiah-Jordan James	G	6′-6″	208	FR	Charleston, SC
10	John Fulkerson	F	6′-9″	212	JR	Kingsport, TN
12	Victor Bailey Jr.	G	6′-4″	186	JR	Austin, TX
13	Jalen Johnson	G	6′-6″	196	JR	Durham, NC
21	Olivier Nkamhoua	F	6′-8″	224	FR	Cumberland, MD
23	Jordan Bowden	G	6′-5″	193	SR	Knoxville, TN
30	Brock Jancek	F	6′-8″	222	SO	Knoxville, TN
33	Zach Kent	F	6′-11″	235	SO	Magnolia, DE
34	Uros Plavsic	F	7′-0″	240	FR	Chattanooga, TN
35	Yves Pons	G	6′-6″	215	JR	Paris, FR

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

Scouting Report

Tennessee (8-5, 0-1 SEC) lost its opening SEC game with LSU on Saturday 78-64. In that game the Vols were down by just one point at the half but couldn’t keep up with the Tigers in the second stanza. Guard Yves Pons and newcomer forward Santiago Vescovi co-led the Vols in scoring, each with 18 points. The Vols leading scorer so far this season is guard Lamonte Turner (12.3 ppg). The Vols have three other players that average in double figures. This does not include Santiago who technically averages 18 points per game in one game played for the Vols. The 2019-20 Tennessee team is way down in scoring points from last season. The Vols hung an average of 82 points a game last season. This season that is down to just under 70 points a game. While the Vols aren’t as offensively potent as last season, they can still play outstanding defense and are currently holding opponents to less than 60 points a game.

On Saturday Missouri (8-5, 0-1 SEC) opened its 2019-20 SEC schedule with a 71-59 loss at Kentucky. In that game Mizzou trailed by three at the half before ultimately losing in the second half. Dru Smith led the Tigers with 11 points. No other Missouri player scored in double figures. For the season, the Tigers are 12th in the SEC in scoring averaging just 67.3 points per game. Only one player other than the aforementioned Smith, averages more than 10 points a game. Simply put, the Tigers have trouble putting the ball in the hoop. They are 12th in the conference in field goal percentage and 11th in three point shooting percentage. They can make shots at the line though (73.9%). Mizzou basketball’s strength is defense. The Tigers allow just 56 points a game so far and did a fairly good job defending UK’s one and dones at Rupp Arena on Saturday.

This game on Tuesday will be a good indicator as to how far Tennessee has dropped from last season after losing Grant Williams and Andrew Bone. This one will likely be a defensive battle. These two teams are the top two teams in defense in the SEC. Prediction is a tossup game so you go with the home team.

Tennessee-Missouri Prediction

Missouri 62, Tennessee 61