No. 19 Kentucky vs. No. 15 Missouri: Preview, Odds & How to Watch

Just like that, Mark Pope‘s debut season in Lexington is coming to a close as the Kentucky Wildcats are set to end the year at Missouri before the SEC Tournament begins next week. The Tigers are led by Dennis Gates, putting forth one of the league’s best coaching performances in 2024-25 after going winless in the league just a year ago.

Can UK wrap up the regular season with one final road victory? KSR has everything you need to know about the matchup in Columbia.

Kentucky at Missouri: How to Watch, Listen

• Date, Time: Saturday, Noon EST
• Television: ESPN (Tom Hart, Dane Bradshaw)
• Home Radio: UK Sports Network – 630 WLAP, iHeart Radio (Tom Leach, Goose Givens)
• Online Radio: iHeart
• Satellite Radio: Sirius 84 or 82
• Live Stats: StatBroadcast

You can also follow the game via our new LIVE BLOG on the website, which will begin an hour before tip-off, or join the conversation on KSBoard

Season rewind

Kentucky: KenPom 16

• 11/4: 103-62 W vs. Wright State
• 11/9: 100-72 W vs. Bucknell
• 11/12: 77-72 W vs. No. 6 Duke
• 11/19: 97-68 W vs. Lipscomb
• 11/22: 108-59 W vs. Jackson State
• 11/26: 87-68 W vs. Western Kentucky
• 11/29: 105-76 W vs. Georgia State
• 12/3: 70-66 L at Clemson
• 12/7: 90-89 W OT vs. No. 7 Gonzaga
• 12/11: 78-67 W vs. Colgate
• 12/14: 93-85 W vs. Louisville
• 12/21: 85-65 L vs. Ohio State
• 12/31: 88-54 W vs. Brown
• 1/4: 106-100 W vs. No. 6 Florida
• 1/7: 82-69 L at Georgia
• 1/11: 95-90 W at No. 14 Mississippi State
• 1/14: 81-69 W vs. No. 11 Texas A&M
• 1/18: 102-97 L vs. No. 4 Alabama
• 1/25: 74-69 L at Vanderbilt
• 1/28: 78-73 W at No. 8 Tennessee
• 2/1: 89-79 L vs. Arkansas
• 2/4: 98-84 L at No. 25 Ole Miss
• 2/8: 80-57 W vs. South Carolina
• 2/11: 75-64 W vs. No. 5 Tennessee
• 2/15: 82-78 L at Texas
• 2/19: 82-61 W vs. Vanderbilt
• 2/22: 96-83 L at No. 4 Alabama
• 2/26: 83-82 W at Oklahoma
• 3/1: 94-78 L vs. No. 1 Auburn
• 3/4: 95-64 W vs. LSU

Missouri: KenPom 15

• 11/4: 83-75 L at Memphis
• 11/8: 77-62 W vs. Howard
• 11/11: 84-77 W vs. Eastern Washington
• 11/14: 111-39 vs. Mississippi Valley State
• 11/22: 91-56 W vs. Pacific
• 11/24: 112-63 W vs. Arkansas Pine Bluff
• 11/27: 81-61 W vs. Lindenwood
• 12/3: 98-93 W vs. California
• 12/8: 76-67 W vs. No. 1 Kansas
• 12/14: 88-61 W vs. LIU
• 12/17: 83-72 W vs. Jacksonville State
• 12/22: 80-77 L vs. Illinois
• 12/30: 82-65 W vs. Alabama State
• 1/4: 84-68 L at No. 2 Auburn
• 1/7: 83-67 W vs. LSU
• 1/11: 75-66 W vs. Vanderbilt
• 1/14: 83-82 L at No. 5 Florida
• 1/18: 83-65 W vs. Arkansas
• 1/21: 61-53 L at Texas
• 1/25: 83-75 W vs. No. 16 Ole Miss
• 2/1: 88-61 W at No. 14 Mississippi State
• 2/5: 85-81 L at No. 4 Tennessee
• 2/8: 67-64 L vs. No. 10 Texas A&M
• 2/12: 82-58 W vs. Oklahoma
• 2/15: 87-74 W at Georgia
• 2/19: 110-98 W vs. No. 4 Alabama
• 2/22: 92-85 L at Arkansas
• 2/25: 101-71 W vs. South Carolina
• 3/1: 97-93 L OT at Vanderbilt
• 3/5: 96-84 L at Oklahoma

Series History

Kentucky leads the all-time series 15-3, although life in Columbia has not been easy for the Wildcats, sitting at just 4-3 on the road. UK won the head-to-head matchup in Lexington, a 90-77 blowout that saw Rob Dillingham led the way with 23 points while Tre Mitchell added 20.

Dennis Gates, in his third season at Mizzou, is 1-1 against the Wildcats overall while Mark Pope is set to coach against the Tigers for the very first time. He did not take on Missouri as a player, either, with the program joining the SEC in 2012.

Kentucky vs. Missouri Odds

Spread: Missouri –3.5
Total: 170.5

KenPom and Bart Torvik both project wins for Missouri, the former calling an 86-83 victory and the latter rolling with an anticipated score of 88-83. ESPN’s BPI likes the Tigers by 0.4 points while giving the home team a 51.7 percent chance to pull off the win.

Kentucky Projected Starters

#1 – Lamont Butler
6-2 – 208 – GUARD – GRAD SENIOR
12.0 PPG, 4.5 APG, 3.0 RPG

#00 – Otega Oweh
6-4 – 215 – GUARD – JUNIOR
16.0 PPG, 4.7 RPG, 1.5 SPG

#4 – Koby Brea
6-7 – 215 – GUARD – GRADUATE STUDENT
11.0 PPG, 3.2 RPG, 1.2 APG

#7 – Andrew Carr
6-11 – 235 – FORWARD – GRADUATE STUDENT
10.0 PPG, 4.6 RPG, 1.7 APG

#22 – Amari Williams
7-0 – 262 – CENTER – GRADUATE STUDENT
10.9 PPG, 8.7 RPG, 3.1 APG

Missouri Projected Starters

#0 – Anthony Robinson II
6-3 – 180 – GUARD – SOPHOMORE
9.4 PPG, 3.5 APG, 2.1 SPG

#12 – Tony Perkins
6-4 – 200 – GUARD – SENIOR
8.1 PPG, 2.5 APG, 2.4 RPG

#2 – Tamar Bates
6-5 – 195 – GUARD – SENIOR
13.1 PPG, 2.4 RPG, 1.2 APG

#11 – Trent Pierce
6-10 – 220 – FORWARD – SOPHOMORE
7.1 PPG, 3.4 RPG, 1.0 APG

#25 – Mark Mitchell
6-9 – 230 – FORWARD – JUNIOR
14.1 PPG, 4.6 RPG, 2.0 APG

Statistical Comparison

(via Kentucky’s game notes)

Interesting stats from UK’s game notes:

• Otega Oweh and Amari Williams are on the cusp of career milestones, the former just 23 points away from 1,000 for his college career while the latter is seven rebounds away from 1,000 career boards.
• Kentucky has seven wins over top-15 competition, good for most in program history. A victory at Missouri would give the team eight, tying 1992-93 Indiana and 1978-79 Duke for most in college basketball history.
• Mark Pope secured his seventh-career 20-win season as a head coach with the Senior Day victory over LSU
• Jaxson Robinson was named a finalist for the Julius Erving Award this week, one of five players up for the small forward of the year award. He will miss the remainder of the year after undergoing surgery to repair a wrist injury.

Pregame Storylines

LOCKING UP A NO. 3 SEED?

The latest projections have Kentucky going back and forth between No. 3 and No. 4 seed lines in the NCAA Tournament, this game potentially deciding the Wildcats’ fate on Selection Sunday. Win, and you likely lock up a No. 3 regardless of what happens in the SEC Tournament as you secure a tenth Quad 1 victory, a mark just Auburn (15) and Michigan State (11) have hit on the year. This would also give Pope’s group an eighth win against top-15 competition, which would tie the all-time record in college basketball.

Lose, and you may be able to save your standing in Nashville — although we know how little the selection committee values conference tournaments for at-large bids — but it’s no longer guaranteed. Win, then make a run next week? There may actually be a path to a No. 2 seed, depending on the rest of the college basketball landscape. It starts in Columbia.

SEC TOURNAMENT IMPLICATIONS

Entering the final game of the regular season, Kentucky can earn anywhere from the No. 5 seed in the SEC Tournament to the No. 8 seed — guaranteed a single bye to open the event in Nashville on Thursday. A win over Missouri would guarantee the Wildcats anywhere from a No. 5 to a No. 7 while a loss would lock in the No. 8 seed. With a victory, the following scenarios are on the table:

• No. 5 seed – LSU and Florida wins
• No. 6 seed – Texas A&M and Florida wins OR LSU and Ole Miss wins
• No. 7 seed – Texas A&M and Ole Miss wins

CALEB GRILL IS MIZZOU’S SNIPER

Now in his sixth season of college basketball and third different school, Caleb Grill is leading Missouri in scoring as the team’s sniper off the bench. Averaging 25.5 minutes per game, the 6-3 super, super senior is scoring 14.4 points per game on 50.0 percent shooting, 42.6 percent from three (on 6.8 attempts) and 85.7 percent at the line while adding 3.8 rebounds and 1.7 steals. He’s got 18 games in double figures and 13 with at least three made 3-pointers.

KENTUCKY HAS NOT PLAYED WELL IN COLUMBIA

The Wildcats are 15-3 all-time against the Tigers, including six straight wins against the new SEC foe after they joined the conference from 2013-17. Since 2018, though, Mizzou is an impressive 3-1 against Kentucky at home — including a blowout 90-77 win most recently in 2022. UK’s lone win in that stretch came when ranked the highest at No. 4 overall, defeating Missouri 66-58 in February of 2019. Can the Cats put their 3-6 record in true road games this season aside and pull off the upset win? The Tigers will have something to say about it, sitting at 17-1 inside Mizzou Arena this season — Texas A&M the lone team to pull off the victory.

Join The Discussion on KSBoard

Want to interact with the KSR crew during the game? Consider joining the conversation on KSBoard, where we’ll be sharing live updates while also answering questions and providing real-time analysis (and probably complaining about the officiating).

New members can get KSR+ for just $1 for the first week.

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Rapid Reaction on the KSR YouTube Channel

Miss the game? KSR’s got you covered with a Rapid Reaction live from Mizzou Arena on the KSR YouTube Channel. We’ll also have wall-to-wall postgame coverage on the website, including highlights, comments from Mark Pope and the players, stats, and takeaways.

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