Princeton vs. Missouri Bracket Prediction: March Madness Odds
It’s an NCAA Tournament South Region second-round game that very few expected Saturday when No. 15 seed Princeton faces No. 7 Missouri in a matchup of Tigers.
Missouri is a 6.5-point favourite to win on the college basketball odds.
Princeton vs. Missouri NCAA Tournament Point Spread and Betting
Millions of brackets were ruined Thursday when No. 15 Princeton of the Ivy League shocked Pac-12 Tournament champion and No. 2 Arizona, a popular Final Four selection if not even further. It was only the 11th time in history that a No. 15 upset a No. 2 in the first round, and Arizona now has the unfortunate distinction of being the first to have it happen twice. And there’s a Canadian connection. In 1993, the No. 2 Wildcats lost to No. 15 Santa Clara with that Broncos club led by a relative unknown point guard from British Columbia named Steve Nash.
A No. 15 seed has never reached the Final Four, but this is the third year in a row that one reached the Round of 32 and each of the previous two won in that round as well: In 2022, Saint Peter’s, a New Jersey school like Princeton, got all the way to the Elite Eight. In 2021, Oral Roberts reached the Sweet 16.
Missouri, from the SEC, and Princeton haven’t played since 1999, but Mizzou does have recent Ivy League experience (see below).
Princeton Tigers (15)
Princeton closed as a 15-point underdog against Arizona in the 59-55 win, which marked the biggest spread upset by an Ivy League team since the NCAA Tournament expanded in 1985. The previous record was Harvard at +10.5 before knocking off New Mexico in 2013. Princeton hadn’t won a Big Dance game since 1998 when current head coach Mitch Henderson was a guard on the team. The last Ivy League club in the Sweet 16? Cornell in 2010. Princeton managed to win despite attempting only five free throws and not until late in the game. They also hit 4-for-25 from deep. Princeton had one more rebound than much bigger Arizona, which featured one of the country’s top frontcourts. The Tigers’ star is senior Englishman Tosan Evbuowman, a two-time first-team All-Ivy League pick. He was the only player to score in double digits against Arizona with 15 points, adding seven rebounds and four assists. Princeton is 5-0 ATS in its past five.
Missouri Tigers (7)
Mizzou beat Utah State 76-65 in the first round, its first Big Dance victory in 13 years. Star Kobe Brown hit two three-pointers in a span of just over three minutes in the second half, fuelling a 13-2 run that turned a two-point deficit into a 62-53 lead. The 11-point win was Missouri’s largest margin of victory in the NCAA Tournament since beating Memphis by 11 in the 2009 Sweet 16. The Tigers are now 23-0 on the season when eclipsing 70 points. They played Ivy League school Penn way back on Nov. 11 and won 92-85. Penn was 0-3 vs. Princeton this season, losing by 12 and eight in the regular season and then by seven last Saturday in Ivy Madness. Missouri is 3-7 ATS in its past 10 Saturday games.
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