Kentucky Wildcats vs Missouri Tigers Prediction & Match Preview - February 3, 2021

The No.18 Missouri Tigers will face off against the Kentucky Wildcats on their home court, Mizzou Arena, in an SEC showdown this Tuesday.

The Tigers are coming off a nail-biting overtime victory over the TCU Horned Frogs, moving them to an 11-3 record on the year. Meanwhile, the Kentucky Wildcats have lost four of their last five games and have a 5-10 record.

Match Details

Fixture: Kentucky Wildcats vs Missouri Tigers - NCAA Men's Basketball

Date & Time: Wednesday, February 3rd, 7 PM ET

Venue: Mizzou Arena, Columbia, Missouri

Missouri Tigers Preview

Xavier Pinson #1 of the Missouri Tigers goes up for a dunk

The Missouri Tigers were able to steal away their eleventh win of the season on Saturday in an overtime victory over the TCU Horned Frogs 102-98.

The Tigers found themselves down 12 points with less than five minutes to play in the second half. However, they were able to rally behind the excellent shooting of their two starters, Jeremiah Tilmon and Xavier Pinson, to claw back for a win.

Here is what Missouri Tigers head coach, Cuonzo Martin, had to say after his team's hard-fought victory, via ESPN:

"Human nature, when there's that type of lead and the crowd's out of it, you're ready to give up and quit. They just dug deep, made plays, drove the ball and executed stuff we talked about in practice."

Heading into the game against the Horned Frogs, the Missouri Tigers were among the nation's worst three-point shooting teams. However, on Saturday, they went 11 of 23 from outside the perimeter.

If the Tigers can continue to knock down the three-ball at a consistent rate, they will have no issues against the struggling Kentucky Wildcats.

Key Player - Xavier Pinson

The key player for the Missouri Tigers is Xavier Pinson. The junior guard was on fire against TCU, dropping a career-high 36 on 52.6% shooting.

Watch: #Mizzou guard Xavier Pinson had THREE huge 3's down the stretch to send the game to OT! He finished with a career-high 36 points. UNBELIEVABLE performance. pic.twitter.com/qHgjzPJCyA
— Andrew Kauffman (@AndrewABC17) January 30, 2021

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The special night came as no surprise to Pinson's teammates. His teammates claim he is one of the hardest workers in the nation.

Here is what Jeremiah Tilmon, the Missouri Tigers starting forward, had to say about Pinson's career-high night:

"He’ll probably stay tonight and get some shots up. I was expecting him to come out and play good."

If Xavier Pinson can continue to shoot the ball at a high percentage, the Tigers will continue to climb up the SEC ranks.

Missouri Tigers Predicted Lineup

F Jeremiah Tilmon, F Kobe Brown, G Dru Smith, G Xavier Pinson, G Javon Pickett

Kentucky Wildcats Preview

Devin Askew #2 of the Kentucky Wildcats talks to his teammates

The Kentucky Wildcats were forced to postpone their game against the Texas Longhorns last week due to a combination of positive COVID-19 tests and contract tracing.

The time off may end up being the best thing for the Kentucky Wildcats, as they are in the middle of one of the worst seasons in their program's history and have lost four of their last five games.

The Wildcats have shown signs of brilliance this season but have not been able to string together a run of consistent performances. For them to make the NCAA tournament with their current 5-10 record, they would need to win the SEC tournament.

With that being said, they may have a chance at an upset against the Missouri Tigers. The Kentucky Wildcats have not won a game this season in which they have scored under 65 points. However, apart from the previous overtime victory, the Missouri Tigers are putting up 73 points per game.

If the Kentucky Wildcats can slow the pace of the game and keep the Missouri Tigers off the three-point line, they are likely to earn their sixth win of the season.

Key Player - Brandon Boston Jr.

One of the biggest problems for the Kentucky Wildcats this season has been their shot-making ability. Brandon Boston Jr. was supposed to be the player to solve that issue, but he has been just as inconsistent as the rest of the team.

The five-star recruit is shooting just 36.4% from the field and is only converting on 18% of his three-pointers.

If the Kentucky Wildcats want to put together a run this season, their starting guard will need to find his shooter's touch.

Calipari on his message to struggling five-star freshman Brandon Boston Jr: "You are getting better. Stay the course."Says it's been really hard for the kid, who is working hard, because some of his playing habits just won't work in college (and obviously the NBA).
— Kyle Tucker (@KyleTucker_ATH) January 15, 2021

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Kentucky Wildcats Predicted Lineup

F Davion Mintz, F Keion Brooks Jr., C Olivier Sarr, G Devin Askew, G Brandon Boston Jr.

Kentucky vs. Missouri Prediction

The Kentucky Wildcats have lost to the Missouri Tigers only once in their program's history with a 13-1 record. However, according to ESPN Basketball Power Index, they have just a 30% of earning a victory on Tuesday night.

We expect the Missouri Tigers to pull away late in a closely contested matchup. The Wildcats' shooting struggles will ultimately cost them against the more experience Tigers side.