NCAAB Odds, Pick for Missouri vs Minnesota

The Minnesota Golden Gophers have been cellar-dwellers in the Big Ten for a couple of seasons, and there's no reason to believe that will change any time soon.

They will play the Missouri Tigers Thursday night.

Missouri lost the bulk of its starting lineup in the offseason, but head coach Dennis Gates is the man for the job for a reason. He revamped the starting lineup, which was originally constructed by a bevy of transfers from his former employer, Cleveland State.

Nick Honor still leads the charge as the veteran on the roster, but Gates also brought in some other noteworthy talent.

Given that Pharrel Payne is questionable, the Gophers may be in a tough spot. Even with him on the floor, Missouri has an edge in most facets of the game and should cover the spread, but let's dig in further to the Missouri vs. Minnesota odds.

The Tigers have Noah Carter, Sean East II, Kaleb Brown and Aidan Shaw as returners. Brown is questionable with an illness, but the Tigers have plenty of depth.

Gates added John Tonje (Colorado State), Connor Vanover (ORU), Caleb Grill (Iowa State), Jesus Carralero Martin (Campbell), Tamar Bates (Indiana), Trent Pierce (freshman), Curt Lewis (junior college) and Jordan Butler (freshman).

Losing Kobe Brown, D’Moi Hodge and several other experienced names hurts, but Missouri has a chance to be a NCAA tournament team once again.

Vanover, a 7-foot-5 center, will make his Missouri debut. Last season, Vanover averaged 12.7 points, 7.2 rebounds and 3.2 blocks per game for Oral Roberts. He can be a force in the post and should provide the internal boost Mizzou was sorely missing in its first three games.

Even though it was missing a key player, Missouri was able to show how it can shoot the 3. Honor shot over 39% last year from deep. Grill shot 36.8%, Tonje shot 38.9%, Carralero Martin shot 38.5% and Bates shot over 37%. Additionally, Lewis shot almost 50% from outside at John A. Logan College.

Having these shooters at the Tigers' disposal will open up the inside.

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This offense will — and should — run through Dawson Garcia. Vanover can neutralize the post with his length and if Payne is hobbled or out, it'll put pressure on Garcia, Jack Wilson and Isaiah Ihnen.

Ben Johnson did his best to match the Big Ten talent by adding Elijah Hawkins (Howard), Mike Mitchell Jr. (Pepperdine), Cam Christie (freshman), Wilson (Washington State) and Kris Keinys (Lithuania).

Finally, Minnesota’s offense is just a little top-heavy. Christie is a nice breath of fresh air and scored 18 against UTSA.

On the other hand, Garcia is the primary shot taker and maker. If Vanover eliminates Garcia's inside game, Garcia, who isn't a consistent outside shooter, is cooked.

Unless Ihnen, Christie, Joshua Ola-Joseph and Braeden Carrington step up, Minnesota could be out of luck on shot opportunities, unless Vanover exits the game.

Missouri has the leg up in almost every area of this game. Payne would be an added bonus for the Gophers, but if he can't go, Missouri should win the rebounding battle, which was an area of concern for the Tigers dating back to last season.

Take Missouri against the spread and play it to -3 with Payne and -3.5 without.

Pick: Missouri -1.5 (Play to -3 with Payne & -3.5 Without Payne)

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