At the time of going to press, Missouri is 4-1 straight-up with their only blemish coming in the CBE Classic in Kansas City against Michigan State

2007-11-30

At the time of going to press, Missouri is 4-1 straight-up with their only blemish coming in the CBE Classic in Kansas City against Michigan State, 83-86. That game went down to the final seconds as Missouri showed great resiliency coming back from a 16 point deficit. The Tigers and their Coach Mike Anderson’s version of “forty minutes of hell” pressing defense caused 17 Spartan turnovers.

The CAL Bears are one of the better coached teams in the nation behind Ben Braun. Cal has beaten previously undefeated San Diego State and a good Conference USA squad in Southern Miss. This year they feature twin towers, a Pac-10 All-Freshman selection last year with 6-10 Ryan Anderson and 6-11 Devon Hardin. The Bears are a young team with 5 sophomores and one freshman in the top seven minutes played. They are playing short-handed with a lingering injury to F Theo Robertson and a leg injury to Omondi Amoke, a highly touted freshman recruit, who has yet to see the court. Duke Transfer 6-7 Jamal Boykin becomes eligible December 22.

While MU is somewhat vertically challenged versus the taller Bears, CAL has not done well protecting the rock as they are ranked 236th in offensive turnover rate. While MU causes turnovers, they also lead the nation with the best offensive turnover rate. CAL plays the previous Wednesday night in altitude at Nevada. I look for the young, depth-shy Bears to be handled by the Tigers.

Prediction: Missouri by 6.

Click here to read latest College Basketball news