SEMO at Missouri Preview

Tonight the SEMO Redhawks will take on the Missouri Tigers in Columbia, MO at Mizzou Arena. The Redhawks are coming off an 85-51 win against Alabama A&M on Saturday, and the Tigers are coming off a 74-60 win against Chaminade in the Maui Invitational last Wednesday. Both teams are 3-3 so far in the season, and the Missouri Tigers lead the overall series 7-0. But tonight I think the Redhawks will leave Columbia with a win.

This year marks the inaugural season for Kim Anderson at Missouri. So far the team isn't playing as well as what some Tiger fans were hoping for. Kim Anderson was the guy that a lot of Tiger fans were wanting to see hired after Frank Haith left for the head coaching job at Tulsa. There were big expectations for Coach Anderson with him coming off a D-III National Championship with the Central Missouri Mules. I think having a 3-3 record is ideal for Missouri at this point into the season. The past 7 times that these two teams have faced it has been the Tigers handling the Redhawks with ease. I don't think that is going to happen this time around.

If you compare both teams you will see that SEMO has the statistical advantage over Missouri. SEMO is shooting the ball at 45.2%, that's 4% better than Missouri. SEMO also edges Missouri on assists per game by 2. SEMO is averaging more blocks per game as well, but they are equal in the turnover department. Jarekious Bradley (17.5), Nino Johnson (12.3), and Antonious Cleveland (10) are all averaging 10 or more points per game. Johnson (6) and Aaron Adeoye (6.7) are averaging 6 or more rebounds per game. Johnson is averaging 2.5 blocks per game, and 2.3 steals per game making him a powerful presence in the paint. J.J. Thompson is a point guard that can make things happen averaging 3.7 assists per game. Thompson is very good when it comes to dishing the ball to teammates.

Missouri is no slouch by any means. They are very capable of keeping their undefeated record against the Redhawks, but they are going to need to step it up if they want to win tonight. Missouri only has one player averaging 10 or more points in Montaque Gill-Caesar (13.7). Everyone on the Missouri Tigers are averaging under 5 rebounds per game, except for Ryan Rosburg (5.3). Wes Clark, who had a fantastic freshmen year last season, and Keith Shamburger are really good at moving the ball around. they are both averaging over 3 assists per game.

One of the biggest keys for SEMO to come away with the win is to watch the fouls. The Tigers are shooting 66.4% in free throws. I think SEMO needs to make sure that they get the ball to Johnson and Bradley and try to draw fouls on Missouri. Missouri has 134 fouls so far in the season, so it makes sense for SEMO to attack down low. I think if SEMO can stay aggressive down low and play smart defensively that they can come away with a big win against an SEC team tonight. Johnson, Bradley, Cleveland, Adeoye, and Thompson are going to be the key guys tonight. They need to play smart and collectively tonight. Missouri doesn't have great attendance in basketball so the crowd won't be a factor tonight. I see SEMO getting the victory tonight by a score of 67-58.