The Kentucky Wildcats overcame a sloppy first half to win in the SEC Tournament’s first round, and now they are favored against the Missouri Tigers to reach Friday.
My Kentucky vs. Missouri predictions and college basketball picks expect the Tigers to slow the game and thus slow the best Wildcat on Thursday, March 12.
Kentucky vs Missouri prediction
Kentucky vs Missouri best bet
Kentucky vs Missouri best bet: Otega Oweh Under 21.5 Points (-120)
This pick does not mean I doubt Otega Oweh. I simply believe in the Missouri Tigers defense.
The best player on the Kentucky Wildcats’ roster deserves faith. He cleared this prop in Wednesday’s first round of the SEC Tournament despite going 0-for-3 from deep. Before that, he had cleared this prop in three straight and in five of six. In his last seven games, Oweh has averaged 23.3 points.
But expect the Tigers to slow this game down and to decisively cut into clean looks inside the arc, two aspects that work directly against Oweh’s scoring.
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Kentucky vs Missouri same-game parlay
Considering Oweh has hit multiple 3-pointers in just eight of 19 SEC games, this may seem absurd, but in three of those, he still scored fewer than 22 points. The key in threading this needle against Missouri is that the Tigers give up plenty of looks from deep while not fouling at an aggressive rate.
Kentucky vs Missouri SGP
- Otega Oweh Under 21.5 points
- Otega Oweh Over 1.5 made threes
- Kentucky moneyline
Our beyond the arc SGP: Undervalued Wildcats
Kentucky was a 12.5-point home favorite against Missouri on Jan. 7, losing outright by five. That may be a poor sign, but since then, the Wildcats rank No. 31 in barttorvik.com’s rankings, while the Tigers sit at No. 41.
Given the venue change, shortening this spread to -8 or -9 would have made sense, but hauling it down to -3.5 is an overreaction.
Kentucky vs Missouri SGP
- Otega Oweh Under 21.5 points
- Otega Oweh Over 1.5 made threes
- Kentucky -3.5
Kentucky vs Missouri odds
- Spread: Kentucky -3.5 | Missouri +3.5
- Moneyline: Kentucky -165 | Missouri +140
- Over/Under: Over 148.5 | Under 148.5
Kentucky vs Missouri betting trend to know
Kentucky is now 4-2 against the spread in its last six games outside of Lexington. Find more college basketball betting trends for Kentucky vs. Missouri.
How to watch Kentucky vs Missouri
| Location | Bridgestone Arena, Nashville, TN |
| Date | Thursday, March 12, 2026 |
| Tip-off | 12:30 p.m. ET |
| TV | SEC Network |
Kentucky vs Missouri key injuries
Odds are correct at the time of publishing and are subject to change.
Not intended for use in MA.
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