Missouri Tigers vs South Carolina Gamecocks Prediction, 2/20/2021 College Basketball Pick, Tips and Odds

Game: Missouri Tigers vs South Carolina Gamecocks

Date: Saturday, February 20, 2021

Location: Colonial Life Arena in Columbia, SC

TV: ESPN2

Odds/Point Spread: Missouri (-3)

The South Carolina Gamecocks (5-10) play the Missouri Tigers (13-6) at Colonial Life Arena on Saturday. Missouri opens this matchup as 3-point favorites. The O/U is set at 151.5.

Missouri heads into this matchup with a record of 13-6 this year. The Tigers are hitting 31.0% on 3-point shots (126 of 407) and 69.3% from the free throw line. They are averaging 74.0 pts per game (119th in D-1) while hitting 45.4% from the field. They are turning it over 13.6 times per contest and as a group they commit 20.0 personal fouls every game. As a unit, Missouri is grabbing 36.5 boards per contest and has accumulated 251 assists for the season, which ranks 165th in D-1 in terms of passing the rock. Defensively, the Tigers are able to force 12.7 turnovers on a nightly basis and they draw 19.7 personal fouls. They currently rank 147th in D-1 in giving up assists with 222 conceded so far this season. The Tigers defense is allowing an opponent FG percentage of 42.3% (476 of 1,125) and they concede 35.3 rebounds per game as a unit. They are surrendering 32.3% from 3-point land while they are 219th in college hoops in PPG allowed (71.8).

The Missouri Tigers faced the Georgia Bulldogs and took a loss by a score of 80-70 in their last contest. Missouri wrapped up the contest with a 42.6% field goal percentage (26 of 61) and knocked down 6 of their 26 3-point shots. At the free throw line, the Tigers converted 12 of their 15 attempts for a percentage of 80.0%. When it comes to grabbing rebounds, they compiled 30 with 9 of them being on the offensive end. They also distributed 14 assists in this contest while earning 7 steals and 7 rejections. In relation to defense, Missouri allowed the other team to shoot 42.6% from the field on 26 out of 61 shooting. Georgia dished out 14 assists and had 7 steals in this game. In addition, the Bulldogs snagged 32 rebounds (6 offensive, 26 defensive) and had 7 blocked shots. Georgia finished the game shooting 80.8% from the free throw line by making 21 of their 26 attempts. They also made 7 out of their 15 shots from beyond the arc.

Kobe Brown is a guy who was a major factor for this game. He racked up 21 points on 8 of 15 shooting. He played for 31 mins and grabbed 5 boards. Brown finished the game shooting 53.3% from the field and also distributed 2 dimes. Another guy that came through in this matchup for the Tigers was Mark Smith. He had 7 boards and also collected 2 dimes. He finished shooting 50.0% from the field in this contest via 4-of-8 (11 points). When the final whistle was blown, Smith saw the court for 26 min.

South Carolina has a win-loss record of 5-10 so far this year. The Gamecocks are committing 19.9 fouls per contest and they shoot 66.3% from the charity stripe. They are earning an assist 13.7 times per game (147th in college basketball) and they are turning it over 15.9 times per contest. South Carolina has earned 1,110 pts for the campaign (74.0 per contest) and they collect 36.7 rebounds per contest. In terms of offensive execution, the Gamecocks are shooting 42.3% from the floor, which is ranked 275th in Division 1. The Gamecocks defensively are ranked 311th in the country in PPG given up with 77.4. They are able to force 17.1 TO's every game and have let teams shoot 45.1% from the field (247th in college basketball). The South Carolina defense gives up 35.0% on 3-point shots (114 of 326) and their opponents are making 75.5% of their shots from the charity stripe. They have conceded 14.6 assists and 36.6 boards on a nightly basis, which is ranked 281st and 252nd in Division 1.

The last time they took the court, the South Carolina Gamecocks went home defeated by a final of 93-73 when they faced the Tennessee Volunteers. The Gamecocks snagged 17 defensive rebounds and 10 offensive rebounds totaling 27 in the game. They also turned away 3 tries while recording 11 steals for the matchup. The Volunteers committed 14 fouls for this game which took the Gamecocks to the charity stripe for 12 tries. They were able to knock down 11 of the free throws for a rate of 91.7%. When discussing shots from downtown, South Carolina made 10 out of 24 attempts (41.7%). When this game wrapped up, the Gamecocks shot 26 out of 65 from the floor which had them shooting 40.0%. The Gamecocks permitted the Volunteers to convert 32 out of their 59 attempts from the field which left them shooting 54.2% in the matchup. They finished shooting 47.4% from beyond the arc by shooting 9 out of 19 and ended up shooting 20 out of 26 at the free throw line (76.9%). When it comes to how they rebounded, South Carolina permitted Tennessee to grab 35 overall (10 on the offensive side).

A.J. Lawson was important for the Gamecocks for this game. He converted 8 out of 20 for this contest giving him a rate of 40.0%, which got him 20 points. Lawson snagged 4 rebounds in his 28 minutes played and had 2 dimes in this game. One more player that played a role for South Carolina was Keyshawn Bryant. He notched 15 points in his 34 minutes played by way of 4 of 12 shooting in this contest. Bryant ended the game having shot 33.3% from the floor in addition to contributing 2 assists and 7 rebounds.

Who will win tonight's college basketball game against the spread?

Guy Bruhn's Pick: Take South Carolina (+3)

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