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The Line on Missouri vs. West Virginia Saturday has opened Tigers +11.5 with a total of 133.
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ABOUT MISSOURI (9-9): While the shots are falling at the foul line, the Tigers are shooting 41.8 percent from the floor - 13th in the SEC - after finishing 15-of-50 against Texas A&M. "We have a lot of confidence that they're going to make shots," junior guard Dru Smith, who leads the team in scoring at 12.1 points per game, told reporters. "And even if we have games like this where they don't fall as often, if I pass them the ball and they're open, I still want them to shoot that ball every time. Like (coach Cuonzo Martin) said, they're definitely falling in practice, and I think we're going to see it translate here soon." Smith scored 18 points and handed out a season-high eight assists in Tuesday's loss, while fellow guard Mark Smith scored 19 to push his average to 11.8, second on the team.
ABOUT WEST VIRGINIA (15-3): Turnovers have been an issue at times, but the Mountaineers played a clean game against Texas with a season-low eight giveaways. Freshman forward Oscar Tshiebwe and sophomore forward Derek Culver scored 13 points apiece and rank first and second, respectively, on the team in scoring at 11.7 and 10.7 per contest. Junior forward Gabe Osabuohien, who leads the squad with 2.1 assists and 1.4 steals, has 19 points over his last two games after producing a total of 21 through his first 13.
