The annual Braggin’ Rights game between Illinois and Missouri has highlighted a decade of highs and lows for both teams and their rivalry.

Although the first meeting between the programs was in 1932, the Braggin’ Rights game didn’t take on its modern form until 1980. Before the 2000s the teams were evenly matched. But, Mizzou started the most recent decade with three-straight ranked wins over Illinois. The attendance at each of those games was over 20,000 and reached 22,139 in December of 2012 when the No. 12 Tigers upset John Groce’s No. 10 ranked Illini 82-73. 

Illinois reeled off five-straight victories over Mizzou starting in 2013 when Illinois point guard Tracy Abrams buried a pair of free throws in the final seconds of the game to upset Frank Haith’s No. 23 Tigers.

The 2014 edition of the game ended with one of the most recognizable shots in series history when Illini guard Rayvonte Rice knocked down a step back, three-pointer as the final buzzer sounded giving Illinois its second-straight victory.

However, since 2013, neither team has been ranked and attendance reached an all-time low in 2016 at 12,409. Overall it seemed like the big moments had vanished.

The rivalry lost some of its luster in the last five years, but fans of both teams felt the opposition reignite when Missouri head coach Cuonzo Martin poached former Illinois commits Jeremiah Tilmon and Javon Pickett away from head coach Brad Underwood at Illinois during the first his season with the program in 2017.

A little over a year later, the rivalry gained more fuel when former Illini guard Mark Smith announced his transfer to Mizzou after his freshman season in Champaign.

Smith was greeted with lots of jeers in last season’s Braggin’ Rights, his first with the Tigers.

“It was just a great feeling,” Smith said. “I’ll always remember that feeling hearing the boos.”

In the past two seasons, trash talk towards Tilmon and Smith from Illini fans has audibly grown, especially since the players antagonized more cross-state tension between both programs.

Tilmon said this is one of the biggest games of the year for the metro-east natives on the Missouri roster because they feel a need to defend the St. Louis side of the contest, even though they’re from the Illinois side.

Since the lowest recorded attendance in 2016, there has been an uptick in tickets sold and the passion amongst the fans and players has seemed to return.

“It’s a war for 40 minutes,” Illini junior Trent Frazier said. “They are going to throw a lot of punches.”

The energy amongst the fans is something sophomore forward Giorgi Bezhanishvili said it one of the best environments he’s played in.

“Top-10 if not top-five,” Bezhanishvili said. “So, I mean last year the floor was literally shaking it was an unbelievable experience.”

Quinn Lowery, a sophomore Finance major at Missouri has rooted for the Tigers his whole life and been to the last four Braggin’ Rights contests.

“I think it is really cool that half of it is orange half of its black and gold, it’s definitely more live than other games,” Lowery said. “It is more than any other game, especially since we left the Big 12 we don’t really have a rivalry with Kansas anymore this is the biggest rivalry game we have in our season.”

Rivalry can spur emotions and controlling those emotions can sometimes be difficult for younger players. Last season, Illinois sophomore guard Ayo Dosunmu was whistled for two fouls, including a technical, before the 18-minute mark of the first half.

But, Underwood believes experienced players like Frazier have better prepared the team’s younger players this year.

“Our veteran players have helped educate them in terms of the purpose and meaning (of the Braggin’ Rights game),” Underwood said.

Following Saturday’s loss, Illinois has split the decade series with Mizzou, winning five times during the 2010s. Mizzou earned it’s first back-to-back Braggin’ Rights wins for the first time since 2011-2012.

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