Illinois (7-3) will take the court in St. Louis on Sunday against Missouri (10-1) for the annual Braggin’ Rights game. It will be the 44th edition of the game between the two teams.
Braggin’ Rights history
Braggin’ Rights has been a longstanding tradition between Missouri and Illinois, but the Illini have generally been the more successful team, leading the series head-to-head 27-15. They won last year’s matchup but have not won back-to-back games since 2017 when they completed a five Braggin’ Rights game win streak (2013-2017).
In the Brad Underwood era, the Illini are 3-4 in Braggin’ Rights games and will aim to even the score this year with a win. Last year’s game was a 24-point blowout win in favor of the Illini, but with a new team, much will change regarding matchups and the game plan.
Meet Missouri
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Missouri is on a hot streak, having won 10 games in a row, including an upset of No. 1 Kansas on Dec. 8. Its sole loss came to Memphis in its season opener. While the rest of its schedule has mostly been mid- and low-major teams, Missouri beat California this season.
The Tigers are led by junior forward Mark Mitchell, senior guard Tamar Bates and sophomore guard Anthony Robinson II, all averaging double figures. Mitchell is averaging 17.8 points and 2.3 blocks per game over Missouri’s last four contests, leading the team over that stretch.
Graduate student guard Caleb Grill, who injured his neck during the team’s seventh game, has missed Missouri’s last four games. However, he may make his return against Illinois, as he took part in Missouri’s practice on Saturday and was no longer wearing a neck brace.
Grill is a big part of the Tigers’ offense; he was their leading scorer before he got injured. He is averaging 13.6 points and 3 three-pointers made per game on an extremely high 55.3% clip from beyond the arc. If he does return, Grill will be a main focus for the Illini defense.
Missouri is also an extremely tall team. They are currently without 7-foot-5 freshman center Trent Burns, who is out with a foot injury and has not played a game all season. However, its frontcourt is still tall and led by 7-foot freshman center Peyton Marshall, 7-foot graduate student center Josh Gray and 6-foot-10 sophomore forward Trent Pierce. Mitchell, one of their best scorers, is also 6-foot-9. The Tigers will be another physical SEC school the Illini will have to bang bodies with inside the arc.
Unranked Illini still dangerous
After a week in which Illinois defeated No. 20 Wisconsin (9-3) and fell to No. 1 Tennessee (11-0) on a buzzer beater, the team remained unranked in this week’s AP poll. However, they’re still capable of taking down tough competition and playing at a level comparable to some of the best teams in the country.
Freshman guard Kasparas Jakucionis has been on a hot streak, averaging 22 points, 6.2 rebounds and 4.6 assists over the last five games, including hitting 17 three-pointers at a 50% clip. Jakucionis is without question one of the best freshmen in the country, and he has shouldered most of the offensive load for the Illini. Missouri will have to focus on containing Jakucionis if they hope to stifle Illinois’ offense, especially with freshman forward Will Riley and graduate student forward Ben Humrichous struggling to make shots.
Sophomore center Tomislav Ivisic will have his hands full with the big Missouri frontcourt. The 7-foot-1 big man has been solid all year but has cooled down in Illinois’ past two games. Ivisic scored in single digits in his last two outings, his first two times not scoring in double digits all year.
Sunday will be a game where he will look to bounce back, but Missouri’s physical presence inside may make it tough for him to score down low. If he can get his three-point shot to fall, Ivisic could be dangerous from deep, especially if Missouri’s bigs have a harder time guarding him in the pick-and-pop on the perimeter.
Illinois showed that it could be physical against Tennessee after getting bullied late against Northwestern (9-3). With Missouri being another physical SEC school, Illinois must bring a similar level of physicality and effort on the defensive side. Junior guard Kylan Boswell will undoubtedly bring his intense on-ball defense, but Humrichous, Ivisic and junior guard/forward Tre White must step up to deal with the Tigers’ size.
The game will tip off at noon on ESPN.
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