11th-ranked Tigers in Boulder to take on Buffaloes

NCAA Basketball Betting Lines

02/21/2009 - Boulder, CO (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Big 12 Conference foes collide in Boulder today, as the 11th-ranked Missouri Tigers pay a visit to the Colorado Buffaloes. This is the second meeting of the season between these two, and Missouri had very little trouble disposing of the Buffs in the first encounter, matching a season-high in points with a 107-62 pasting of CU in Columbia back on January 14th.

The Tigers are one of the real surprises in the Big 12 this season, running out to a 22-4 record, which includes a 9-2 mark in conference -- their best- ever start in Big 12 action. Mizzou has won five in a row and nine of its last 10, and a win today would give the Tigers their first 10-win conference campaign since 1999-2000. Missouri took care of Nebraska last Saturday, 70-47, in its most recent outing, and the team has won its last two road games to improve to 4-2 in such bouts this season.

As for Colorado, it is mired in a six-game losing streak, although the last two games have been competitive (85-76 OT loss to Texas, 46-41 setback at Nebraska). The Buffaloes are just 9-16 on the year and 10 of their 11 league games have resulted in defeats. Still, the team is two games over .500 at home (8-6) which should serve as a source of confidence today.

With the win over Colorado earlier this season, Missouri's lead in the all- time series improved to 95-52, although the Buffs own a 33-28 ledger in games played in Boulder. That said, the Tigers have claimed victory in each of their last two visits to the Coors Events Center.

Missouri's success this season stems from its ability to produce at both ends of the floor. The Tigers are knocking down their field goals at a 47.8 percent clip and netting 82.8 ppg as a result. Defensively, they are allowing just 65.5 ppg on 41.0 percent overall shooting, and they take full advantage of the 19.5 turnovers per game the opposition has been guilty of thus far. The frontcourt tandem of DeMarre Carroll (17.3 ppg, 6.8 rpg) and Leo Lyons (14.3 ppg, 5.7 rpg) are the top options for coach Mike Anderson's club, and both are shooting in excess of 50 percent from the floor -- Carroll actually closer to 60 percent (.576). Carroll and Matt Lawrence each scored 13 points to lead the Tigers past Nebraska last weekend, 70-47. The Tigers limited the Cornhuskers to just 28.6 percent field goal efficiency while shooting 42.4 percent themselves, which included a 51.7 percent effort in the second half. Nebraska turned the ball over 20 times, leading to plenty of easy baskets for Mizzou.

A glaring lack of offensive production has been the Buffaloes' downfall this season, as they are averaging 64 ppg, that figure dropping to 58.9 ppg against Big 12 foes. The team does have a pair of double-digit scorers in guards Cory Higgins and Dwight Thorne II, the pair netting 17.6 and 13.0 ppg, respectively. From there however, the cupboard is pretty bare as no player averages more than nine points per outing. Against the same Nebraska team that Missouri manhandled last week, Colorado managed to shoot just 31 percent from the floor and suffered 16 turnovers compared to just six for the Huskers. Higgins was the lone Buff to score in double figures, going just 3-of-9 from the field to finish with 12 points. The turnover story aside, CU did play solid defense, holding Nebraska to 34.8 percent field goal efficiency, but it wasn't enough the earn the team a victory.

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Big Ten Conference odds

Teams that should be in: Michigan State, Indiana
Work left to do: Illinois, Purdue, Michigan, Iowa

Behind the big two, the pecking order might be in a bit of flux. Has Michigan State passed Indiana after handling the Hoosiers in East Lansing? Where is Illinois in that mix? What looked like a four-big league last week could be morphing into five -- and even six is not unthinkable at this point if everything breaks right.

Should be in:

Michigan State [21-8 (8-6), RPI: 20, SOS: 15] The Spartans made it four-for-four on the homestand, a gigantic accomplishment that leaves them in extremely good shape. MSU is only 1-6 on the road and is at Michigan and at Wisconsin to close things out, meaning the date with the Wolverines on Tuesday looms very, very large. Beating Texas early will hold up well, as will the rout of Bradley and the win over BYU, but will 8-8 be enough? It very well could be, as the computer numbers are good, but why chance it?

Indiana [18-9 (8-6), RPI: 24, SOS: 32] Hmm ... good thing the last two are at Northwestern and home to Penn State, because IU might want to get both to feel completely safe after dropping its third in the last four, fading after halftime at Michigan State. Who knew the best nonconference win would be over Southern Illinois, which is a gift that keeps on giving for the Hoosiers. The win over Wisconsin also looks good on the mantel.

Work left to do:

Illinois [21-9 (9-6), RPI: 31, SOS: 25] A good performance at Penn State leaves the Illini in pretty good shape. Can they go to Iowa and take care of business to really look on their way? That's a huge game, as there is a possible cluster of teams that will end at 9-7. Illinois beat Bradley, but has lost to Xavier. A 9-7 mark and a semifinals trip in Chicago could be enough with the computer profile hanging in there, but it would be better not to mess around, clinching at least a tie for third.

Purdue [18-10 (7-7), RPI: 47, SOS: 28] Couldn't get it done at Iowa, but did win at Northwestern to put 9-7 squarely in sight. Where does that leave the Boilermakers, though? Even if they beat Minnesota and Northwestern at home, that won't help the computer numbers. Nonconference wins over Virginia, DePaul and Oklahoma are solid, but not spectacular. The Boilers very well might need an upset in the B10 quarters to have a legit claim.

Michigan [19-10 (7-7), RPI: 55, SOS: 53] Well, Michigan did what it needed to do, winning at Minnesota to take control of its fate. The Wolverines have Michigan State and an already-wrapped-up-the-league Ohio State at home to close, so the chances are there. Win both and we can talk. There is no marquee win yet in the profile, and the Wolverines were splattered in several games against name opponents. A mediocre computer profile fueled by a lack of road wins isn't helping, either.

Iowa [16-12 (8-6), RPI: 80, SOS: 64] For the sake of being complete, we'll add Iowa, this season's Stanford. It's plausible that the Hawkeyes could get to 10-6 (at Penn State, vs. Illinois left), but where does that leave them after a gruesome nonconference performance where the best win was over ... Toledo? Iowa State? Cornell?? If they get to 10-6, we can start to look at what they need to do in the B10 tourney, although my gut sense is that they would need to make the final and have knocked off Ohio State or Wisconsin on the way to have any real claim.

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