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The 2021 NCAA Tournament continues on Saturday evening with an 8 vs. 9 matchup in the West Region between the Oklahoma Sooners and the Missouri Tigers. The former Big 12 rivals have only played twice since Missouri left for the SEC and Oklahoma earned the 77-66 win as a 1.5-point home underdog when they met in November 2019. Obviously, a lot has happened in the 16 months since and the Tigers enter this game at 16-9, while the Sooners are 15-10 on the season.

Tip-off is scheduled for 7:25 p.m. ET on Saturday night and the game will be played at Lucas Oil Stadium in downtown Indianapolis. Missouri is favored by one point with the over-under for total points listed at 139.5 in the latest Oklahoma vs. Missouri odds from William Hill Sportsbook. Before making any Missouri vs. Oklahoma picks, check out the college basketball predictions and betting advice from the SportsLine Projection Model.

The SportsLine Projection Model simulates every Division I college basketball game 10,000 times. Over the past four-plus years, the proprietary computer model has generated an impressive profit of over $2,500 for $100 players on its top-rated college basketball picks against the spread. It has also returned almost $500 on all top-rated college basketball picks this season. Anyone who has followed it has seen huge returns.

Now, the model has set its sights on Oklahoma vs. Missouri in the NCAA Tournament 2021. You can head to SportsLine to see its picks. Here are several college basketball odds and trends for Missouri vs. Oklahoma:

  • Oklahoma vs. Missouri spread: Missouri -1
  • Oklahoma vs. Missouri over-under: 139.5 points
  • Oklahoma vs. Missouri money line: Oklahoma -105, Missouri -115
  • OU: The Sooners are 2-8 against the spread in the last 10 games
  • MIZZ: The Tigers are 3-7 against the spread in the last 10 games

Why Oklahoma can cover

The Sooners struggled down the stretch, losing five of six games to close out the season. However, when we take a closer look at who they were playing and then the quality opponents they were able to beat earlier in the season, it feels safe to say that's not representative of Oklahoma's talent.

Of the Sooners' five losses down the stretch, four came to Kansas, Texas and Oklahoma State (x2), who all wound up with top-four seeds in the 2021 NCAA Tournament. Oklahoma also has wins over West Virginia (x2), Kansas, Alabama, Texas and Cinderella Oral Roberts this season, so the Sooners are certainly not scared of the limelight. Austin Reaves is averaging 17.7 points, 5.7 rebounds and 4.7 assists per game this season and if the streaky shooter can get hot from the floor, he can carry the Sooners in this spot.

Why Missouri can cover

While the Tigers didn't end the season as well as they started it, you would be hard-pressed to find any team limping into the NCAA Tournament with less momentum than Oklahoma. The Sooners lost five of their final six games, and their seven-game against-the-spread losing streak is the longest of any team in the field. As if that weren't bad enough, Oklahoma will be without second-leading scorer De'Vion Harmon (COVID-19) in this one.

Not only was Harmon Oklahoma's second-leading scorer, he also hounded opposing guards on defense and was a key cog in Oklahoma's aggressive defensive schemes. With Harmon out of the equation, Missouri's guard combo of Dru Smith and Xavier Pinson (team co-leaders in points per game with a 14.1 average) will have more room to operate offensively. It is also worth noting that the underdogs in the 8 vs. 9 matchup are 25-11-1 against-the-spread over the past 10 tournaments.

How to make Missouri vs. Oklahoma picks

The model is leaning over on the total, projecting the teams to combine for 145 points. It also says one side of the spread hits in nearly 60 percent of simulations. You can only see the pick at SportsLine.

So who wins Oklahoma vs. Missouri? And which side of the spread hits nearly 60 percent of the time? Visit SportsLine right now to see which side of the spread you need to jump on, all from the computer model that has crushed its college basketball picks.