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The Missouri Tigers men's basketball team faces its toughest challenge of the season as it takes on the Louisville Cardinals in the Battle 4 Atlantis semi-final in Nassau, Bahamas.
Louisville made the Final Four last season, and currently ranks No. 4 in the country. The Cardinals are led by senior point guard Peyton Siva, who will square off against Tigers point guard Phil Pressey. Siva averages seven assists per game, but struggled in Louisville's 51-46 victory over Northern Iowa on Thanksgiving, only contributing seven points and one assist. Siva will need to play better against Missouri if the Cardinals want to advance to the championship game.
In contrast to Siva, Pressey scored 18 points and dished out eight assists in the Tigers' 78-70 victory over the Stanford Cardinal. Siva presents a comparable matchup for the SEC preseason player of the year, as Silva earned Big East preseason player of the year honros.
Both teams play strong defense, so this game projects as a hard-fought, low-scoring affair. Lousiville opponents only average 47.5 points per-game, while the Tigers limit their opponents to 34.7 percent shooting from the floor.
The winner of this game will face the winner of the Duke/VCU game in the tournament final.
Game Time: Friday, Nov. 23; 8:30 p.m CT
Location: Imperial Arena at Atlantis Resort; Nassau, Bahamas
TV: NBC Sports
Odds: Louisville -5