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Tiger Tipoff Preview: Bradley

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It has been 10 days since Missouri last took the court, when it beat rival Illinois to improve to 5-0. In that time the Tigers have had their game against Prairie View A&M canceled and jumped from unranked all the way to No. 14 in the AP Top 25. Tuesday, the Tigers will take the floor as a ranked team for the first time since 2013 as they host Bradley. Here is all the information you need to get set for the matchup.

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                                         TIP TIME INFORMATION

Missouri (5-0) vs Bradley (6-2)

WHEN: 6:00 p.m.

WHERE: Mizzou Arena

TV: SEC Network

RADIO: Tiger Radio Network (Mike Kelly, Chris Gervino)

SERIES: Missouri leads 2-0

KenPom Prediction: Missouri 73-62

                                       THE STARTING LINEUPS

Bradley Probable Starters
Player Class Height PPG RPG APG

Terry Nolan Jr.

JR

6-4

11.0

4.3

3.5

Elijah Childs

SR

6-8

14.6

7.4

1.3

Ville Tahvanainen

SO

6-4

9.6

3.9

1.5

Sean East II

SO

6-3

9.4

3.5

1.8

Ari Boya

JR

7-1

5.6

6.8

0.1

Mizzou Probable Starters
Player Class Height PPG RPG APG

Dru Smith

SR

6-3

14.6

3.4

3.6

Mark Smith

SR

6-5

14.8

3.2

1.2

Xavier Pinson

JR

6-3

14.2

4.2

4.2

Jeremiah Tilmon

SR

6-10

7.4

7.4

1.2

Kobe Brown

SO

6-7

7.6

6.2

0.2

Jeremiah Tilmon and Missouri will look to keep their perfect record intact when the team hosts Bradley Tuesday night.
Jeremiah Tilmon and Missouri will look to keep their perfect record intact when the team hosts Bradley Tuesday night. (Jessi Dodge)

                                                  BY THE NUMBERS

Statistical Matchup
Mizzou Category Bradley

79.2

PPG

77.6

67.8

PPG Allowed

60.0

49.1

Field Goal %

46.0

31.0

Three-Point %

33.9

+7.4

Rebound Margin

+10.4

13.4

Turnovers

12.0

30

Offensive Efficiency Rank

142

39

Defensive Efficiency Rank

105

228

Tempo

312

43

Strength of Schedule

203

                                        MIZZOU KEYS TO THE GAME

1. Don't start out sluggish. The danger of a long layoff is always that a team will start slow and let a less-talented opponent get some momentum. That could be especially possible for a Missouri team that has spent the past week-plus constantly hearing how good it is. While the Tigers should definitely win if they play well, this is not the type of opponent you can beat by sleepwalking through a game. Bradley has won the Missouri Valley Conference each of the past two years. It has played two games against top-100 competition this season, beating Toledo and losing to Xavier by a point on the road. The Braves are capable of taking the air out of the ball if they build an early lead, too. They rank among the bottom 50 teams nationally in tempo, and while they average nearly 78 points on the season, they have scored 61, 50 and 69 in their three best performances of the season (the win over Toledo, loss to Xavier and win over Miami of Ohio). Missouri showed against Liberty it is capable of overcoming a slow start, but the evening will be much more comfortable if the Tigers can put some points on the board early.

2. Attack the basket. Bradley does not have typical mid-major size. The Braves feature three players 6-foot-8 and taller who play regular minutes, including 7-foot-1 center Ari Boya. They rank No. 56 nationally in offensive rebounding percentage and sixth in two-point defense, allowing opponents to convert just 36.8 percent of shots from inside the three-point arc. That said, Missouri can't let that dictate its offense. The Tigers need to continue to get the ball inside rather than settling for three-pointers. Missouri ranks eighth in the country in two-point shooting at 61.2 percent. The Tigers have also been effective at both getting to the free throw line and converting this year. Missouri averages 21.8 free throw attempts per game and is shooting 76.1 percent from the charity stripe.

3. Get Jeremiah Tilmon back on track. The polarizing senior center started out this season strong for Missouri, scoring at least eight points and grabbing at least nine rebounds in three of the team's first four games. Against Illinois, however, he reverted back to his foul-prone ways, playing just 18 minutes and scoring three points. Tilmon's bad games have tended to come in bunches during his first three years of college, and Bradley also has a big, physical center, so it would be promising to see him bounce back with a solid performance. Missouri likely won't need him to carry the offense, but the Tigers are significantly better both on the defensive end and the glass when he's on the floor.

                                     POWERMIZZOU PREDICTION

Bradley is no pushover, but Missouri has shown this season it is capable of handling this caliber of opponent. The key will be playing crisp after the recent layoff. It wouldn't surprise us if this is a close game at halftime, but ultimately, Missouri has too many scoring options for Bradley to keep pace.

FINAL SCORE: Missouri 75, Bradley 68

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