Princeton vs. Missouri prediction, odds, time: 2023 NCAA Tournament picks, March Madness bets by proven expert

The second round of the 2023 NCAA Tournament begins Saturday, and the 15th-seeded Princeton Tigers will look to pull off another upset when they take on the No. 7 seed Missouri Tigers in a South Region matchup. Princeton posted a shocking 59-55 victory over Arizona in the opening round, while Missouri advanced with a 76-65 triumph over Utah State.

Tipoff at the Golden 1 Center in Sacramento, Cal. is set for 6:10 p.m. ET. Missouri is a 6.5-point favorite in the latest Missouri vs. Princeton odds, while the over/under for total points scored is 148.5. Before making any Princeton vs. Missouri picks, be sure to check out the college basketball predictions and betting advice from SportsLine’s Matt Severance. 

Severance is a well-connected writer and handicapper who has worked in the industry since 2005. He is one of SportsLine’s top college basketball experts and is on a sizzling 155-99-1 (+1762) roll on his picks. Anyone following him is way up.

Now, he has set his sights on Missouri vs. Princeton and revealed his coveted picks and predictions for the NCAA Tournament 2023. You can head to SportsLine to see the picks. Here are several college basketball odds and trends for Princeton vs. Missouri:

• Missouri vs. Princeton spread: Missouri -6.5
• Missouri vs. Princeton over/under: 148.5 points
• Missouri vs. Princeton money line: Missouri -275, Princeton +220
• MIZZ: Missouri is 1-6 against the spread in its last seven NCAA Tournament games
• PRI: Princeton is 5-0 ATS in its last five overall contests
• Missouri vs. Princeton picks: See picks at SportsLine

Why Missouri can cover

Missouri’s victory against Utah State was its first in the NCAA Tournament since 2010, when it upset seventh-seeded Clemson 86-78 as the No. 10 seed in the East Region. D’Moi Hodge was the team’s top offensive player against the Aggies on Thursday as he scored 23 points while making half of Missouri’s 10 3-pointers. The senior guard did most of his damage in the second half, pouring in 15 points while going 5-of-7 from the field.

Hodge is second on the team in scoring with an average of 15.1 points while fellow senior guard Kobe Brown leads Missouri with 15.9 per contest. Brown recorded 19 points on 7-of-8 shooting against Utah State and pulled down a game-high eight rebounds. He also had a big second half, sinking three 3-pointers in a span of just over three minutes during a 13-2 run that turned a two-point deficit into a 62-53 lead.

Why Princeton can cover 

Princeton waited even longer than Missouri to post a victory in the Tournament as its triumph over Arizona was its first since it defeated UNLV 69-57 in 1998. Tosan Evbuomwan was the only player to reach double figures against the Wildcats as he was 7-of-15 from the field en route to 15 points. The senior forward, who leads Princeton this season with an average of 15 points, also grabbed seven rebounds and dished out a game-high four assists.

Sophomore guard Blake Peters finished with nine points as he came off the bench to go 3-for-5 from beyond the arc. Princeton was strong down the stretch on Thursday as it finished with a 9-0 run after trailing Arizona 55-50 with 4:45 remaining. Senior guard Ryan Langborg, who is second on the team with an average of 12 points, made the second of his back-to-back layups with 2:03 to play to put Princeton ahead for good.

How to make Princeton vs. Missouri picks

Severance has analyzed this matchup and while we can tell you he’s leaning Under the point total, he has discovered a critical X-factor that has him jumping all over one side of the spread. He’s only sharing what it is, and which side to back, at SportsLine.

Who wins Missouri vs. Princeton on Saturday? And which critical X-factor makes one side of the spread a must-back? Visit SportsLine now to see Severance’s Princeton vs. Missouri picks, all from the expert who is crushing college basketball, and find out.