The 15th-seeded Princeton Tigers (22-8) and 7th-seeded Missouri Tigers (25-9) meet Saturday in a 2nd Round matchup in the NCAA Tournament. Tip from Golden 1 Center in Sacramento, Calif. is scheduled for approximately 6:10 p.m. ET (TNT). Let’s analyze Tipico Sportsbook’s lines around the Princeton vs. Missouri odds as we make our expert college basketball picks, predictions and best bets.
The Tigers of Princeton crushed brackets everywhere with a 59-55 win over the 2nd-seeded Arizona Wildcats Thursday as a 15-point underdog. Princeton has ripped off 5 straight wins, including 2 in the Ivy League Tournament, and it has covered 5 consecutive outings, too.
Princeton shot 41% from the field (26-of-64), while hitting just 25% (4-of-16) from behind the 3-point arc. The smallish Tigers only got to the free-throw line 5 times, too, converting 3 of them.
The good is that Tosan Evboumwan was productive, posting 15 points with 7 rebounds and a blocked shot, and Princeton was somehow even with Arizona in rebounding at 35, despite the big size advantage for the Wildcats.
The Tigers of Missouri hope to be on the winning end of this Tiger Bowl. It rolled past Utah State 76-65 as a 1.5-point underdog despite being the higher seed. It used that disrespect as apparent fuel. The Under (155) cashed, too, and is now 6-3 in the past 9 games overall.
Missouri shot 51% (27-of-53) from the field, and a blistering 40% (10-of-25) from behind the 3-point line. It turned it over just 9 times, making up for the fact it was outrebounded 31-to-25.
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Princeton vs. Missouri odds
Provided by Tipico Sportsbook; access USA TODAY Sports Scores and Sports Betting Odds hub for a full list. Lines last updated at 8:15 a.m. ET.
- Moneyline (ML): Princeton +225 (bet $100 to win $225) | Missouri -270 (bet $270 to win $100)
- Against the spread (ATS): Princeton +6.5 (-110) | Missouri -6.5 (-110)
- Over/Under (O/U): 148.5 (O: -108 | U: -112)
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Princeton vs. Missouri picks and predictions
Prediction
Missouri 81, Princeton 76
Moneyline
Missouri (-270) will cost you nearly 3 times your potential return, and that’s just too expensive for a singular wager. Even as part of a multi-team parlay, including Mizzou sucks the value out of your ticket.
AVOID.
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Against the spread
Roll with PRINCETON +6.5 (-110) and the points, as these Tigers are writing quite a tale so far in this tournament.
Princeton handled the twin towers of Azuolas Tubelis and Oumar Ballo with aplomb, and now it should match up well with Missouri, a team that likes to play more of an up-tempo game like Princeton.
Over/Under
The OVER 148.5 (-108) seems like a high number, but it’s the best play.
According to covers.com, Princeton went for 76.0 PPG during the regular season, while allowing 68.6 PPG. The only concern is that Princeton managed a dismal 71.2% from the free-throw line, leaving a lot of points on the floor, which is maddening to Over bettors.
Mizzou racked up 80.1 PPG in the regular season, and it’s a good 3-point shooting team at 36.2%. And the Tigers exceeded that mark against Utah State, hitting at a 40.0% clip. Missouri was one of the worst defensive teams in the SEC, too, so this could be quite the track meet.
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