Pick for December 21, 2020 (MONDAY)
Game will start on 08:00 PM EST, NCAA - College Basketball
Match: Missouri State Bears - Arkansas Little Rock Trojans
[LOSS] - PICK: ARKANSAS LITTLE ROCK TROJANS ML for 2 UNITS (1.91 ODDS).
By sheer allotment of sports games each week, I have zero doubt Vegas takes proper amount of time to find out just how exponentially better certain mid-major NCAAB teams are to one another when two teams like this face each other. And to take it one step further, can they exactly weigh up how COVID has directly affected the flow of respective teams' schedules? Point and case this match-up. We've done a stellar job at identifying a stacked deck against certain teams where cancellations have created an uneven playing field. Our 7-U win last Thursday with Saint Louis was the standard for exactly that - overwhelming an N.C. State team who forced themselves to play a last-minute game and travelled with just nine players for a live game.
This Missouri State team had its first five games cancelled. The Bears only just played their first game of the year this past week against Division II William Jewell, in addition to a walkover contest against Northwestern State over the weekend.
Little Rock enters this season off a 21-win 2019-20, and the Trojans were ranked in the unofficial Mid-Major Top 25. Talent wise, they are closer to the Top 15. Nine of their top eleven players are back, most notably Markquis Nowell, who is not just the best player on the floor tonight but also one of the better non-power conference guards.
Missouri State was a 16-17 team a season ago, and without three of its top four scorers. At best they are a mediocre team playing in a Missouri Valley league that has completely fallen off the College Hoops radar the last half decade.
Complimenting the aforementioned Nowell, this Little Rock team has production from forwards Nicola Maric (18 ppg and 7 rpg) and Ruot Monyyong (10 ppg and 10 rpg), as well as two reliable backcourt mates in Ben Coupet, Jr. and Marko Lukic.
The Trojans are a veteran and talented group that know how to play together, and they have expectations to be an NCAA Tournament team this season. These two teams are nowhere near each other on the College Basketball spectrum, and I wouldn't blink at a double digit Sun Belt winner. Regardless of margin, Little Rock nabs another win in the non-conference before beginning league play this weekend.
#BlackLivesMatter