It’s always been the one knock against Mike Anderson’s Missouri Tigers. They’ve never really had a dominating rebounder, but when you play the type of game Anderson likes to play, the big beefy usually don’t fit well in his plans. However, Anderson preaches hard, gritty work for a full 40 minutes and they’ll need that tonight when the Tigers face Old Dominion at Mizzou Arena.
The Monarchs are getting AP votes with their 9-2 record and have played some solid teams. The Monarchs are big, physical and have experience, bringing four starters return from last season’s NCAA Tournament run and four seniors that rotate into their lineup. The Tigers have just one senior. ODU has impressive wins over Clemson and Xavier at neutral sites and home home wins over Richmond and Dayton. ODU also took Georgetown to the wire losing by three.
Kent Bazemore is ODU’s top scorer at 13.1 points per game and is shooting 45%. Frank Hassell is the team’s top rebounder and averages close to a double-double with 12.4 points and 9.7 rebounds on a team that wins the rebounding battle consistently. They average an incredible 17.1 offensive rebounds per game. Second chance points will be key for ODU, who gets an offensive rebound on over 50% of their misses.
The Tigers are 3-0 all-time against ODU with their last win a 66-61 final in 2009 at South Padre. Mizzou goes for their 56 straight non-conference home win. Under Mike Anderson, the Tigers have yet to lose a non-conference game at home.
