Chicago St. @ Missouri preview

Missouri goes for a fourth straight win Monday when it hosts Chicago State for its last non-conference game before starting Southeastern Conference play. The Tigers have had more than a week off since beating Illinois on Dec. 21, while the Cougars come in on a four-game losing streak, falling at Indiana State on Dec. 22 in their last game.

Chicago State has a solid scoring backcourt, with Xavier Johnson and Isaiah Lewis leading the team in scoring with 17.7 and 10 points, respectively. Unfortunately for the Cougars, there hasn't been much scoring outside of that duo, with the team averaging just 68.4 points and shooting 42.6 percent from the field. Missouri hasn't been a high-scoring team either, averaging 65.9 points, but that's fine with coach Cuonzo Martin as long as the Tigers play hard on the defensive end, where they're allowing just 57.7 points, tied for 10th best in the nation. Guard Mark Smith leads Missouri with his 11.7 points and 5 rebounds per game, while guard Dru Smith adds 11.5 points, 4.6 rebounds and 4.2 assists.

TV: 8 p.m. ET, No TV.

ABOUT CHICAGO STATE (4-10): Being too aggressive has been a problem for the Cougars this season, as they enter this game having shot 54 fewer free throws than their opponents. Chicago State opponents are averaging 18 made free throws a game, which isn't a good number for a team that struggles to score and can't afford to give up easy points. Against Northern Illinois two games ago, the Cougars had 16 free-throw attempts compared to the Huskies' 36, followed by the loss to Indiana State in which they had only 10 free-throw attempts to the Sycamores' 28.

ABOUT MISSOURI (7-4): The depth of the Tigers was shown in their last game, a win over Illinois, with sophomore guards Xavier Pinson (14) and Javon Pickett (17) combining for 31 points off the bench. Pinson is fourth on the Tigers with an 8.4-ppg average, while Pickett is contributing 8 points a game, with Martin considering the two as starters, even though neither has more than seven starts this season. Still, the two are among the top four on the Tigers in minutes per game, showing Martin's confidence in them.

TIP-INS

1. Missouri ranks 12th nationally in field-goal percentage defense, holding opponents to 37 percent from the field.

2. Tigers F Jeremiah Tilmon is tied for seventh in the SEC with 15 blocks this season.

3. Missouri is one of eight teams nationally to hold at least seven opponents to 56 or fewer points in a game this season, going 7-0 in those contests.

PREDICTION: Missouri 71, Chicago State 54