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It's time to continue our College Basketball odds series with an Arkansas-Missouri prediction and pick. Find out how to watch Arkansas-Missouri.
On a busy day of SEC college basketball, this game carries especially high stakes for both sides. Missouri just won on the road at Florida, giving the Tigers another huge win on their resume. Mizzou has defeated Florida and Kansas, two enormous results which will travel with the Tigers all the way to Selection Sunday. Mizzou has dramatically increased its odds of making the NCAA Tournament, giving coach Dennis Gates a shot in the arm and raising the mood of everyone who follows this program and desperately wants it to succeed. Missouri basketball has a rich heritage thanks to the decades-long quality of former coach Norm Stewart, who cranked out many NCAA Tournament teams and made the Tigers a force in the old Big Eight Conference. Other coaches were able to make the NCAA Tournament in the years immediately after Stewart left, but the past decade has been a difficult one in which the old Mizzou excellence has largely faded. The desire to be a big-time power in college hoops exists in Columbia, and wins such as the Florida conquest revive the belief that the Tigers can once again be relevant on a large, national scale. It is critical for this team and for Dennis Gates to back up the Florida win with another win, instead of allowing things to slip right after a landmark achievement (beating a top-10 opponent on the road).
Yet, as big as this game is for Missouri, it's even bigger for Arkansas. Coach John Calipari, losing his fastball as he gets older, urgently needs to put a halt to the Hogs' losing ways in the SEC. Arkansas is 0-4 in the conference. The Razorbacks do not look like an NCAA Tournament team. They have some good wins out of conference, but if they get blasted by the SEC and finish six games below .500 in the conference — which is what it appears they are about to do — their noncon resume won't be enough to save them on Selection Sunday. Arkansas has to finish no worse than four games below .500 in the SEC, and that means playing .500 basketball the rest of the way. Merely being two games below .500 over the next two months probably won't get it done for the Razorbacks. They have to at least split every two games they play — nothing less — to steady themselves and stay in the hunt for a Big Dance card.
Here are the Arkansas-Missouri College Basketball Odds, courtesy of FanDuel
College Basketball Odds: Arkansas-Missouri Odds
Arkansas: +5.5 (-110)
Moneyline: +198
Missouri: -5.5 (-110)
Moneyline: -245
Over: 148.5 (-115)
Under: 148.5 (-105)
How to Watch Arkansas vs Missouri
Time: 6 p.m. ET/3 p.m. PT
Article Continues Below
TV: SEC Network
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Why Arkansas Will Cover The Spread/Win
Arkansas is in must-win mode, and the Hogs are getting over five points. Arkansas might not win this, but the Razorbacks are certainly going to keep it close. They just can't afford to lose and will do everything they can to max out against Mizzou.
Why Missouri Will Cover The Spread/Win
The Tigers are playing some really good basketball. They are a better team than Arkansas. They are at home. They just handled a really strong Florida squad on the road. Everything points in Missouri's direction.
Final Arkansas-Missouri Prediction & Pick
We think the desperation of Arkansas is more likely than not to keep the game close, but we aren't going to trust Arkansas with our money, either. Pass.
Final Arkansas-Missouri Prediction & Pick: Arkansas +5.5
