Oklahoma or Missouri? Gonaga’s potential Round 2 opponent pick in the 2021 March Madness bracket

Now that the 2021 NCAA tournament ground has been announced and March Madness is set to kick off the action, people have already started filling their brackets and doing a lot of research. Areas have been investigated, sleepers have been identified, and the winners of most of the regions have already been decided.

In the search for an ideal bracket, there is one thing that confuses even the most skilled bracketologist. He is a 9-8 matchup. Every year, those games are coin-flipped and in 2021, it is no different. Every 9 vs. 8 matchup will prove to be difficult and although some will choose the winner of the game to move on from the No. 1 seed that they are likely to play, it is disappointing to choose the wrong team in that matchup.

This year, the Oklahoma Suners and Missouri Tigers are participating in one of those 9-8 games; And it may well prove to be the most difficult matchup to prove.

Suners and Tigers are very similar. Both have big wins over the ranked teams. Both have reduced the stretch. Both have posted similar numbers on both sides of the ball in most of the major stat categories. The selection between Oklahoma (15–10, 9–8 Big 12) and Missouri (16–9, 8–8 SEC) would prove difficult and could have a major impact in the office bracket pool and other contests.

With this, here is all you need to know about the matchups between Oklahoma and Missouri, including rankings, key players, season breakdowns and more:

Expert Bag Picture:
DeCourcy (Gonzaga) | Alcoholic (Illinois) | Fagan (Gonzaga) | Lutowski (Baylor)

Oklahoma vs Missouri Odds

Oklahoma-Missouri is the 28th game played in the first round of March Madness. This will be the last of the 9-8 matches played during the 2021 NCAA tournament and is the fourth-to-last tip-off of Round 1. Per. DraftKings SportsbookOklahoma favors two points in this one. Below is a description of their game, including betting odds, time, TV and venue.

• Odd: Oklahoma (-2)
• Date: Saturday, March 20
• Time: 7:25 pm ET
• TV: TNT
• Arena: Lucas Oil Stadium Parity (North)

Oklahoma (15–10, 9–8 Big 12)

Oklahoma has been one of the better programs in the last 25 years in the Big 25. The Sooners have been to the NCAA tournament 20 times in 25 occasions since 1995 and have made it to the Final Four twice in that period. He also produced Blake Griffin, the No. 1 overall pick from the 2009 NBA Draft and Buddy Heidel, one of the NBA’s best shooters of all time. Trai Young also blossomed into a star there.

Although the Sunnis have produced a lot of NBA-caliber talent over the years, they never won March Madness. They have been runners-up twice, the last of which came in 1988, but they would expect to see more depth in the 10th season of Lone Kruger than the tournament running at the helm.

This said, the Sunnis have been late in their quest to qualify. They are just 1–5 in their final six matches and their only win over that period was 2–22 over the Iowa State Cyclone. And that Big 12 tournament victory was only six points.

This said, the Sunnis registered some impressive victories over their time. In particular, he had a three-game winning streak in late January against top-10 teams Kansas, Texas and Alabama. They have also beaten West Virginia twice. However, they have also lost to Xavier and Kansas State this year and lost in seven other games against ranked teams. His experience against high-ranked teams in Steep 12 should give him a chance to face stiff competition in the NCAA tournament.

• Net Ranking: 3.
• KenPom Ranking: 39
• Quad 1 Record: 5-9
• Quad 2 Record: Equaled 0–0
• Quad 3 Record: 4-1
• Quad 4 Record: 6-0
• Aggressive efficiency ranking: 36th
• Defensive efficiency: 53rd

key players

Austin Reeves (6-5, 206-pound senior guard)
17.7 ppg, 5.7 rpg, 4.7 apg

D’Vian Harmon (6-2, 198-pound Sumpor Guard)
12.9 PAPS, 3.4 RPG, 2.1 APG

Brady Manek (6-9, 231-pound senior forward)
10.8 ppg, 5.1 rpg, 0.9 apg

Umoja Gibson (6-1, 176-pound redshirt senior forward)
9.5 ppg, 3.2 rpg, 1.2 apg

Eliza Harkless (6-3, 195-pound junior guard)
7.8 ppg, 5.0 rpg, 2.4 apg

Field Construction:
WEST | East | South | MIDWEST

Missouri (16-9, 8-8 SEC)

Missouri is another program that has performed well over the last 20+ years. Since 1999, he has made it to March Madness 12 times and has done so as part of the Big 12 and the SEC.

This year, Missouri was a bit of a roller coaster. They also defeated ranked teams Illinois (1 seed in the NCAA Tournament) and Oregon with two other tournament teams, Wichita State and Oral Roberts, with an impressive non-conference win of the year 6–0. He also defeated two other ranked teams Tennessee and Alabama.

However, Missouri reduced the stretch slightly. They were 3-6 in their last nine matches and lost twice to Ole Miss and once to Georgia in that period. If they want to play well against Oklahoma, they will have to play because they performed in the first leg of the season as opposed to the later stages. Either way, Quonzo Martin has done a great job of getting this Missouri program on the tournament path.

• Net Ranking: ४ 47
• KenPom Ranking: 51
• Quad 1 Record: 7-6
• Quad 2 Record: 2-3
• Quad 3 Record: 6-0
• Quad 4 Record: 1–0
• Aggressive efficiency ranking: 51st
• Defensive efficiency: 58th

key players

Drew Smith (6-3, 203-pound senior guard)
14.1 ppg, 3.5 rpg, 3.9 apg

Javier Pinson (6-2, 170 lb. Junior Guard)
14.1 ppg, 2.8 rpg, 2.8 apg

Jeremiah Tillmon (6-10, 260-pound senior forward)
12.3 ppg, 7.0 rpg, 0.9 apg

Mark Smith (6-5, 220-pound senior guard)
9.6 ppg, 3.2 rpg, 1.0 apg

Kobe Brown (6-7, 240-pound SOMPOEMOR forward)
8.0 ppg, 6.3 rpg, 0.8 apg

Bracket Tips: KenPom | Play the odds. Idiot guide

Oklahoma vs Missouri Prediction

This is arguably the biggest toss of 8-9 matches. Both teams are quite friendly, as you can see through the table below.

So, Missouri plays a little faster and shoots a little better than Oklahoma, but the Sooners shoot a bit better from deep and are better on the glass. Both teams have three double-digit scorers on their roster and have a player who can shoot 38 percent or better from beyond the arc.

All told, the game may well come into final possession and with both teams arriving late, it is difficult to know who to trust. That said, in a game that can be decided by one shot, it is usually better to rely on the team with 3-point shooting. The Suners qualify, especially since Ummja Gibson made 41.5 percent of his 3-pointers in this game, while taking 5.4 3-point shots per game.

History of 8 vs. 9 matchups in NCAA tournament

In true sense, throughout the NCAA tournament history, the 9 and 8 seed matchups have been relatively short. This is the largest coin-flip on any bracket, and is only one of the typical first-round matchups where the underdogs have an advantage over a higher-seeded team. No. The 9 seeds have a light edge of 72–68.

If you are looking at recent history, the No. 8 seed has a slight lead. He has set a record of 24–20 in the last 11 NCAA tournaments, but it is worth noting that the No. 9 seeds won in all 9–8 matchups last year.

So what does this mean? Trend will not give us an edge in this coin-flip game, so all you have to do is go with your belly. Oklahoma seems to us to be a better pick than the thinnest of margins, but a strong case can be made for Missouri as well.

The breakdown of the win below has led to 9 seeds having enjoyed 8 seeds in the last 10 tournaments: