Missouri Tigers vs. Alabama Crimson Tide: Betting Odds, SEC Championship Pick

The Missouri Tigers and Alabama Crimson Tide are unfamiliar with each other but back in familiar territory as they prepare to battle in the SEC Championship Game Saturday at the Georgia Dome in Atlanta.

The teams have met just once recently, with Alabama routing Missouri 42-10 as a 21-point road favorite in 2012, the same year the Crimson Tide won the SEC title game.

However, the Tigers bounced back from that 5-7 season by going 11-1 last year before losing to Auburn 59-42 as a 1.5-point favorite in the SEC Championship Game.

Point spread: The Crimson Tide opened as three-point favorites, according to sportsbooks monitored by Odds Shark. (Line updates and matchup report)

College football pick, via Odds Shark computer: 29.0-21.8 Crimson Tide

Why the Missouri Tigers can cover the spread

East Division champion Missouri is riding a six-game winning streak, going 5-1 against the spread since suffering a disappointing 34-0 loss to the Georgia Bulldogs as three-point home underdogs on October 11.

The Tigers have won four games as dogs during that stretch, including a 21-14 home victory last week against the Arkansas Razorbacks, who were 2.5-point road favorites after shutting out LSU and Ole Miss in consecutive games.

In fact, Missouri has played much better as a dog outside of the loss to Georgia, going 8-1 straight up and ATS in its past nine under that scenario dating back to last season, including that one.

Why the Alabama Crimson Tide can cover the spread

West Division champion Alabama knows losing this game would not only drop the team from the top spot in the College Football Playoff rankings, but also knock it out of the field altogether. An SEC team has played for the national championship in each of the past eight years, and the Crimson Tide have won three of the previous five BCS titles.

While they are truly rolling heading into this year’s SEC Championship Game with a seven-game winning streak, they covered the spread for just the second time over that period with a 55-44 win over Auburn in the Iron Bowl last week as a 9.5-point home favorite. Alabama got a wake-up call at halftime against the Tigers, when they were trailing 26-21, and will not let that happen again here with a much better start.

Smart Pick

The teams the Crimson Tide have beaten during their winning streak are far superior to those of the Tigers, much like the overall competition in the respective divisions. Every team in the SEC West finished the regular season .500 or better, including an Arkansas squad that lost 17 straight conference games at one point.

Alabama might appear to be struggling a bit with a 3-10-1 ATS mark in its past 14 games, but this team knows how to rise to the occasion and win big when needed. This is one of those spots where the nation will be watching the No. 1 team in the country. The Tide will not disappoint and should have a similar performance as the last meeting with another easy cover.

Betting Trends

• The total has gone under in seven of Missouri's last 10 games
• Alabama is 1-3-1 ATS in its last five games

All point spread and lines data courtesy of Odds Shark, all quotes gathered firsthand unless otherwise noted. Check out Twitter for injury and line movement updates and get the free odds tracker app.