Missouri vs Alabama: Odds, Prediction, and Best Bet for January 27

The Missouri Tigers will head south and east to take on the Alabama Crimson Tide in an SEC showdown on Tuesday, January 27. Both teams have superior offenses, and both love to run up and down the floor. Will we see plenty of thunderous dunks and wild shots from downtown in this one on the SEC Network?

How will this one play out? We’ll dive into which team has the edge in each statistical category. Get our predictions and best player prop below. Best of luck, sports betting family.

Opening Odds for Missouri vs Alabama

Oddsmakers are making Alabama a large favorite in this game, as the opening line priced the Crimson Tide as a 10.5-point favorite on Monday afternoon. There’s not been much movement off that opening price, at least not so far. Fanatics has moved to -11, but that’s about it as of Tuesday morning.

The books are expecting a higher amount of scoring in this game. The opening total was 165.5, but tons of Under money has changed all of that. We’re now sitting at 164.5 at some online sportsbooks. The move to the Under is a bit shocking with these two solid offenses.

Will the Tigers Win 2 in a Row?

Missouri is a solid 14-6 on the season and 4-3 in SEC play. The Tigers have only won two of their last five games, but we can’t fault them too much for a 2-point loss to the Georgia Bulldogs at home a week ago. It’ll be interesting to see if Mizzou can pull off a road upset.

The Tigers rank a respectable 22nd in the country in effective field goal percentage. They’ve also been strong in the paint, as they rank 20th in 2-point shooting percentage. However, Mizzou has had trouble making free throws all year long, and that could come back to bite them on Tuesday evening.

Missouri’s defense will have to bring its A game tonight against this Alabama offense. Thankfully for Tigers fans, Mizzou does a fantastic job of defending the paint, as the team ranks 27th in two-point defense. Shawn Phillips leads the squad with 1.6 blocks per contest.

Can the Crimson Tide Show Some Consistency?

Alabama has plenty of talent this season, but they’ve been a whole lot more inconsistent than I thought they would be. The Crimson Tide is 13-6 but haven’t been great at all in conference play. They’re going to have to step things up if they want a decent seeding once March Madness rolls around.

The Tide has plenty of depth, as six of their players average 10.2 points per game or more. Aden Holloway leads the team in three-pointers, but he has missed some time due to injury. However, it looks like Holloway will be available on Tuesday night for Alabama.

Alabama’s defensive metrics usually get skewed because of its insanely fast pace. That said, the Tide ranks 42nd in opponent shooting efficiency, which just goes to show how you can’t simply rely on how many points they allow per game. Aiden Sherrell leads the team with 2.5 blocks per game, and he’ll be looking to slow down Mizzou’s big men.

Best Bet: Alabama -5.5 1H (-120) (Fanatics) (1 Unit)

This is a classic bounce-back spot for Nate Oats and the Crimson Tide. They’re coming off a 6-point home loss to rival Tennessee last Saturday, so they should be fired up to make a statement. The drama surrounding Charles Bediako was a big distraction, but I think Oats gets Bama back on track here.

On the flip side, this is a rough spot for Mizzou. They’re coming off a nice 1-point win over Oklahoma, but they needed overtime to do it. That should mean some fairly tired legs after only a couple of days off. The Tigers also do a do terrible job of defending the 3, and we all know Bama loves to fire off shots from beyond the arc.

Mark Mitchell is a serious stud for Mizzou, but let’s not forget about Bama’s Labaron Philon, who could have been a high draft pick but decidedly to come back to Tuscaloosa for one more year. The Tigers won’t have an answer for him on Tuesday night. Good luck, sports betting family! Let’s cash!