In Saturday night’s matchup between the No. 15 Missouri Tigers and the Arkansas Razorbacks, I’m expecting big things from Adou Thiero.
The pregame narrative: The junior guard transferred to Arkansas from Kentucky, heading over with head coach John Calipari. Now, Thiero leads the Razorbacks in scoring, and they’ll need him to come up big tonight.
Check out my college basketball prop bet for Feb. 22.
College basketball prop bet
Best Bet: Thiero 15+ points (-132)
Thiero is the Arkansas Razorbacks’ leading scorer, averaging 15.8 points.
He’s cashed this bet in 13 of 25 games on the year but scored just 12 points when the Razorbacks last faced the No. 15 Missouri Tigers on Jan. 18.
This time around, I expect a different result for Thiero. Here’s why:
- Arkansas guard Boogie Fland, who’s second on the team in scoring (15.1 PPG), got hurt during the previous matchup with Mizzou and is out the rest of the year. That means more of a scoring burden should fall to Thiero.
- Thiero went 2-for-2 from the free throw line against Missouri, which is uncharacteristically low volume. He averages 6.7 free throw attempts, and if he’s in that range tonight, it’ll raise his scoring floor.
So again, although Thiero fell a bit short of this milestone against Missouri last month, things should be different this time around.
This should also be an offence-friendly matchup as both teams enjoy to push the pace.
Arkansas and Missouri rank 66th and 80th, respectively, in terms of shortest average offensive possession, per KenPom.com.
Key stat: Since his 12-point performance against Mizzou, Thiero has averaged 14.5 points and 7.6 free throw attempts.
Pick made at 2:40 p.m. ET 02/22/2025
Jordan enjoys writing data-driven game previews and analysis articles — especially for MLB markets or NFL/NBA props. And as a proud Ohio University grad, he’ll always have a soft spot for college sports (especially if the Bobcats are involved). Previous stops include mlb.com, Sportsnet and The Athletic.