Missouri vs. Pittsburgh Prediction: Can Blake Hinson, Panthers Gain Early Advantage Over Tigers?
The Pitt Panthers will host the Mizzou Tigers on Tuesday night as part of the ACC/SEC Challenge. Can Blake Hinson and Pitt get out to an early lead with their size advantage? Ben Rajavuori breaks down the non-conference clash between Pittsburgh and Missouri.
Ben Rajavuori - November 28, 2023, 5:05 PM EST
5 minMissouri vs. Pittsburgh Prediction: Can Blake Hinson, Panthers Gain Early Advantage Over Tigers?
The Pittsburgh Panthers host the Missouri Tigers in a non-conference matchup from Petersen Events Center in Pittsburgh tonight. The Panthers are coming off a blowout win over Oregon State to improve their record to 5-1 on the season. Missouri is coming off an 8-point win against Loyola Maryland to improve to 5-2 on the season. Pitt is a 6.5-point favorite in this game. Can they continue rolling at home?
Missouri vs. Pittsburgh Date, Time, and Where to Watch
- Date: November 28, 2023
- Game Time: 7:30 p.m. ET
- Where to Watch: ESPNU
Missouri vs. Pittsburgh Odds
- Spread: Missouri +6.5 (-110), Pittsburgh -6.5 (-110)
- Total Odds: O/U 148.5 (-110)
- Moneyline Odds: Missouri (+220), Pittsburgh (-280)
Missouri Tigers vs. Pittsburgh Panthers Prediction
The Missouri Tigers are coming off a good season where they went 23-8 overall, including 11-7 in conference play. They were a 7-seed in the NCAA Tournament, and made it to the Round of 32 before getting upset by Princeton. They had a NET ranking in the 50s and had a top-10 offense by KenPom's metrics. However, this year's team is a shell of that team.
Kobe Brown, DeAndre Gholston, D'Moi Hodge, and Isiaih Mosley are all gone. They were the four leading scorers from last year's team, accounting for 50 of the team's 79 points per game average in the 2022-2023 season. The Tigers returned Noah Carter and Nick Honor, as well as adding some new freshmen and some transfers (John Tonje from Colorado State, Caleb Grill from Iowa State, and Connor Vanover from Oral Roberts).
Missouri is definitely feeling the effects of losing those talented scorers from last season, as their offense has taken a pretty big drop-off this season. Trying to find their new leading scorers while adding in transfers from different programs is not easy, and they have had some close games against bad teams, including a bad loss to Jackson State at home. Missouri looks like they are still searching for an offensive identity.
The Panthers also lost a few key pieces of their offense, as Jamarius Burton, Nelly Cummings, Nike Sibande, and Greg Elliott all graduated. However, they have several upperclassmen ready to fill in and several returning players like Blake Hinson, Federiko Federiko, and Guillermo Graham. They also got two impressive transfers in Zack Austin from High Point and Ishmael Leggett from Rhode Island, two of the top scorers in their respective conferences last season.
The "it" factor for this Pitt team is their size. They are listed as the 6th-tallest team by average height, and they have dominated the rebounding department early this season because of it. They rank first in defensive rebounding percentage and ninth in offensive rebounding percentage. Their size has also helped contest shots, as they are allowing the 16th-lowest effective field goal percentage. This size will frustrate Missouri early, and their offense has been struggling already. I expect Pitt to outrebound and bully Missouri in the paint. They should be up four at halftime easily.
Missouri Tigers vs. Pittsburgh Panthers Pick
Pick: Pittsburgh First Half -3.5 (-110) Click here to see which sportsbook has the best odds
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