There will be more than enough Tigers to go around this evening when Missouri and Memphis hook up in a West Region Sweet 16 battle in Arizona. The game is set to get underway at 9:37pm ET at the University of Phoenix Stadium in Glendale and will be televised live on CBS. One of these Tiger squads will advance to meet either Purdue or UConn in the Elite Eight on Saturday.
Missouri vs Memphis NCAA Tournament Picks Sweet 16 at SBGglobal.com have Memphis listed as a -4.5 against the spread favorite.
Missouri advanced to the Sweet 16 for the first time since 2002 by overcoming a game Marquette squad 83-79 last weekend. The Tigers took out the Cornell Big Red 78-59 in the opening round. The two victories gave Missouri a school record 30 wins and advanced their neutral site mark to 7-1 on the season. Mike Anderson's team is now averaging 81.1 points per game while giving up 66.6 per contest to their opposition.
The Tigers distributed the scoring load in their win over Marquette as they had five players reach double figures in points. However, it was Missouri's three seniors that did most of the work. DeMarre Carroll, Leo Lyons, and Matt Lawrence combined for 49 points in the victory while freshman Kim English added 17. Mizzou held the Golden Eagles to 38.3 percent field goal shooting and 33.3 percent from beyond the arc.
Memphis had a close call in their first round game against Cal-State Northridge, beating the Matadors 81-70 at the Sprint Center in Kansas City. They left nothing to chance in their second tournament game, pounding the Maryland Terrapins 89-70 for their 27th consecutive win. The Tigers, who are holding teams to a meager 57.6 points per game, are now 33-3 overall and 3-1 in neutral site action.
Memphis also had five players in double figures in their drubbing of Maryland as they shot 58.5 percent from the field and 52.6 percent from three point range. Tyreke Evans led the team in scoring with 19 points and he added four rebounds and five assists as well. Forward Shawn Taggert and guard Antonio Anderson were also major contributors in the win. Taggert had 14 points and 11 rebounds while Anderson handed out a game high 11 assists.
SBGglobal.com's Missouri vs Memphis NCAA Tournament Picks Sweet 16:
Missouri Tigers +4.5 (-110), Over 141 (-110), +170 (Moneyline)
Memphis Tigers -4.5 (-110), Under 141 (-110), -200 (Moneyline)
