Missouri Tigers (8-11) vs. South Carolina Gamecocks (16-3)
January 27, 2024 1:00 pm EDT
The Line: South Carolina Gamecocks -7.5 ; Over/Under: -
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The Missouri Tigers and the South Carolina Gamecocks meet Saturday in college basketball action from Colonial Life Arena. Missouri is riding a six-game losing streak at 8-11 this year following a loss to Texas A&M on Tuesday. As for South Carolina, they beat Kentucky in their last game which improved the Gamecocks to 16-3 this year. Let’s get into our Missouri vs. South Carolina prediction. Check back all season long for free college basketball picks at Sports Chat Place.
Missouri Tigers
The Tigers started out great on a 7-2 run through their first nine games. Since then it’s been a 1-9 skid for Missouri, though. The losses in that time have been to Kansas, Seton Hall, Illinois, Georgia, Kentucky, South Carolina, Alabama, Florida and Texas A&M (with a win over Central Arkansas).
In the Texas A&M game back on Tuesday, the Tigers faced a 30-25 deficit going into the second half. Missouri got slightly better on a 33-32 deficit from there in a 63-57 loss. Tops in scoring was Sean East with his 17 points, five assists and two rebounds in the losing effort.
South Carolina Gamecocks
Over on the Gamecocks’ side, they’ve got losses to only Clemson, Alabama and Georgia on the card so far this year. Only one of those (74-47 versus the Tide) was decided by more than five points, either. South Carolina has taken wins over Missouri, Arkansas and Kentucky over their last four games.
In the Kentucky matchup on Tuesday, the Gamecocks were up 33-25 going into the locker room. South Carolina didn’t let up on a 46-37 run in the second half and rolled to the win 79-62. Ta’Lon Cooper topped the team with his 20 points, five assists and six boards.
ANDREW’S FREE MISSOURI VS SOUTH CAROLINA PREDICTION
I’ll lean toward South Carolina here, but you could make a case either way. The Gamecocks didn’t have a ton of issues versus a good Kentucky team in their last outing, shooting 48.3 percent from the field with 36 rebounds and 20 assists. South Carolina wasn’t quite so dominant in a road matchup with Missouri back on January 13, but still came away with the overtime win 71-69.
In that first meeting, neither team shot all that well and the Gamecocks had a 43-32 rebounding edge. That said, the Tigers took advantage of 15 points on 16 South Carolina turnovers to make things interesting. I don’t think the Gamecocks will be quite so sloppy here, so I like them better on a potential cover.
