Prior to each Mizzou hoops game this season, we will get Tiger fans set with The Starting Five. In this feature, we'll give you the anticipated starting lineups for each team, break down keys to a Missouri win and offer up a prediction.
Here is the breakdown of today’s game against Mississippi State..
OFF THE BENCH: Tyson Carter and Xavian Stapleton will see significant minutes off the bench in what has basically become a seven-man rotation for Ben Howland. Eli Wright played eight minutes in the Bulldogs' last game and E.J. Datcher played just two.
OFF THE BENCH: Jordan Geist hasn't been in the starting lineup the last few games, but still runs the point quite a bit. Geist has been good of late, turning the ball over just three times in Mizzou's three game winning streak. Jontay Porter is probably Missouri's most complete player and is coming off one of the best games of his career at Ole Miss. Reed Nikko will see some time in the frontcourt as well.
KEYS TO THE GAME
1. Play some defense. The Tigers have been very good defensively for most of the season, but the last time the two teams played, Mississippi State hit 54% of its shots from the field. The Bulldogs had five players who made at least half their shots, led by 7-for-9 from Quindarry Weatherspoon. Missouri isn't good enough offensively most nights to overcome that kind of effort on the other end.
2. Tilmon or Jontay. Missouri doesn't need both of its freshmen big men to be good to win, as it proved at Ole Miss. But the Tigers need one of them too. In Missouri's losses this year, both Tilmon and Porter have usually been subpar...or flat out shut down. The pair combined for just 12 points and eight rebounds, along with eight turnovers and six fouls, in the last matchup against Mississippi State. Missouri needs more than that from at least one of them.
3. Force it inside. The last time the Tigers played MSU, they made just 6-of-22 three-pointers. Mizzou has been a good long distance shooting team, but there will be nights they don't fall. Both Kassius Robertson and Kevin Puryear have shown more ability and persistence to get in the lane off the dribble lately. If the Tigers can do that, they open up the rest of the offense...and potentially create some foul trouble for a relatively thin Bulldog frontcourt. Puryear could be a key in this one. He'll either be defended by a shorter guard he should be able to post up or a big man he can take outside and beat off the bounce.
TIP TIME INFORMATION
TIPOFF: 1:00 p.m. Central
TELEVISION: ESPN2/WatchESPN
RADIO: The game will be broadcast on the Tiger Radio Network. For a list of affiliates, click here.
THE BOTTOM LINE
This is a game an NCAA Tournament team wins. The Bulldogs have won four in a row and beat the Tigers in Starkville, but if Mizzou is going to end the season with no speculation they're on the bubble, this is a game they win. We think they will. The Tigers are at home and they're a better team than they were the last time the two teams played.
PREDICTION: Missouri 77, Mississippi State 67
PLAYER OF THE GAME: Jordan Barnett breaks out of a recent slump with five threes and 19 points.
