Missouri Tigers vs Kentucky Wildcats Prediction, 1/7/2026 College Basketball Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: Missouri Tigers vs Kentucky Wildcats

Date: Wednesday, January 7, 2026

Location: Rupp Arena in Lexington, KY

TV: ESPN2

The Kentucky Wildcats (9-5) will go up against the Missouri Tigers (11-3) at Rupp Arena on Wednesday.

The Missouri Tigers took the court against Florida and took home the win by a score of 76-74 in their last game. In regard to fouls, the Tigers left the arena with 19 while Florida recorded 22 fouls. They buried 7 of 27 shots from three-point range. Florida walked away from this one shooting 75.0% from the charity stripe by making 15 of 20 tries. On top of that, Florida snagged 33 boards (12 offensive, 21 defensive), but didn't have a block. Florida recorded 17 assists and had 3 steals for this contest. When talking about defense, Missouri allowed the other team to shoot 41.3% from the field on 26 of 63 shooting. They also doled out 11 assists in this contest in addition to forcing 8 turnovers and having 4 steals. When it comes to hauling in boards, they compiled a total of 31 with 10 of them being of the offensive sort. From the free throw line, the Tigers converted 18 of their 30 attempts for a rate of 60.0%. Missouri wrapped up the game with a 45.5% field goal percentage (25 out of 55) and made 8 of their 22 three-point shots.

Anthony Robinson II is a player who was a major factor in the game. He finished shooting 57.1% from the field and also dished out 5 assists. He saw the court for 35 mins played and also totaled 8 rebounds. He scored 19 points on 8 out of 14 shooting.

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Missouri will take the court with a mark of 11-3 this season. They currently have an average of 83.2 points per contest (78th in Division 1) while shooting 51.4% from the floor. The Tigers are connecting on 36.5% on three-point shots (110 of 301) and 67.2% from the free throw line. As a unit, Missouri is grabbing 37.2 boards per game and has accounted for 207 dimes for the campaign, which has them ranked 221st in the nation in terms of passing the ball. They lose possession by turning the ball over 12.8 times per contest and as a squad they commit 17.9 fouls every game.

On defense, the Tigers have forced 12.6 turnovers every game and they draw 18.9 fouls. They are ranked 96th in college in allowing assists to the opposition with 182 surrendered so far this season. The Tigers are giving up a shooting percentage of 41.7% (337 of 809) and they relinquish 30.1 boards per game as a team. They are giving up 36.0% on 3-pointers and they are ranked 137th in the nation in opponents PPG (71.6).

In their last game, the Kentucky Wildcats went home defeated by a final of 89-74 against Alabama. In the matter of how they attacked the glass, Kentucky allowed Alabama to pull down 37 in total (13 on the offensive glass). They finished the game shooting 39.5% from downtown by shooting 15 out of 38 and finished the game at 12 of 16 at the free throw line (75.0%). The Wildcats permitted Alabama to convert 31 of 67 attempts from the field which had them sitting at 46.3% in this game. At the conclusion of this game, the Wildcats ended up shooting 25 for 59 from the field which gave them a percentage of 42.4%. When it comes to shots from downtown, Kentucky knocked down 4 out of 19 attempts (21.1%). They were able to bury 20 of the free throws for a rate of 69.0%. Alabama had 23 fouls in this contest which took the Wildcats to the free throw line for a total of 29 attempts. They gave up possession of the ball 11 times, while recording 6 steals for the game. The Wildcats recorded 23 defensive rebounds and 11 offensive boards totaling 34 for this game.

Otega Oweh ended up being a major contributor for the Wildcats for this game. He converted 8 out of 16 in the game giving him a field goal percentage of 50.0%, and had 8 rebounds. He earned 22 points in his 36 minutes on the court and accumulated 3 assists for the game.

Kentucky has a record of 9-5 for the year. The Wildcats commit 17.0 personal fouls every game while shooting 74.2% from the charity stripe. They are assisting teammates 17.6 times per contest (43rd in the nation) and they cough up possession 10.4 times per game. Kentucky has accounted for 1,178 pts so far this year (84.1 per contest) and they collect 40.0 boards per game. As an offensive unit, the Wildcats are hitting on 48.1% from the floor, which ranks 66th in the nation.

The Kentucky defense surrenders 30.1% from downtown (107 of 356) and opponents are connecting on 74.4% of their foul shots. They give up 14.2 assists and 33.2 boards every game, which ranks 245th and 108th in college hoops. The Wildcats on the defensive end are ranked 91st in college hoops in points given up per game with 69.3. They are able to force 11.7 TO's every game and have allowed teams to shoot 39.8% from the field (42nd in college hoops).

Who will win tonight's NCAA game against the spread?

Guy Bruhn's Pick: Take Missouri

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