Brad Sturdy, IlliniGuys Illini Insider and C0-Host IlliniGuys Sports Spectacular
Cover photo courtesy of Joe Clark, IlliniGuys
December 22, 2024
It’s Christmas time in St. Louis which means that is Braggin’ Rights season for the annual Illinois vs Missouri matchup at the Enterprise Center. The noon tipoff is a little different but make no mistake this will be a raucous arena and a tremendous setting between two very good teams. The Tigers have won 10 in a row, their longest winning streak in 11 seasons, while Illinois sits just outside the top 25 coming off of a last second loss to #1 Tennessee a week ago.
Here’s a deeper look.
Setting the Stage
McBride Homes Braggin’ Rights
Illinois (7-3) vs. Missouri (10-1)
Sunday, Dec. 22, 2024 // 12 p.m. CT // St. Louis, Mo. // Enterprise Center
TV: ESPN – Tom Hart (Play-by-Play) & Daymeon Fishback (Analyst)
Radio: Busey Bank Illini Sports Network – Brian Barnhart (Play-By-Play), Deon Thomas
Meet Missouri
- Mizzou is 10-1 during the 2024-25 campaign and is currently on its longest winning streak in 11 seasons with a 10-game run. Mizzou owns the fourth-longest winning streak in the country entering Sunday's matchup.
- Junior Mark Mitchell leads the team with 13.5 points and 1.2 blocks per game. Tamar Bates and Anthony Robinson II also score in double figures with 12.3 and 11.5 points per game, respectively. Robinson also averages a team-best 4.2 assists and 2.5 steals per game. Josh Gray has a team-best 5.3 boards per game.
- MU ranks fifth nationally with a scoring offense of 88.7 points, 70th with scoring defense of 66.7 and eighth with a scoring margin of +22.0.
- On Tuesday, Jacob Crews became the eighth different Tiger to lead the team in scoring this season in just 11 games. The team's leading scorer, Mark Mitchell, has led Mizzou in points just once this season and no player has led MU in scoring more than twice.
- The Tigers currently rank second nationally with a field goal clip of 52.0 percent.
- Missouri has scored at least 75 points in all 11 games this season – its longest run since a 14- game stretch in 2011-12. Additionally, MU has also shot at least 44 percent in all 11 games – its longest run since a 28-game stretch in 1988-89.
- Mizzou currently ranks fifth in the country with 10.5 steals per game, resulting in an average of 22.4 points off turnovers per game. • Sophomore Anthony Robinson II leads MU and ranks 19th nationally with 2.45 steals per game, collecting at least three steals in 6 contests.
- MU is making 61.8 percent of its 2-point baskets this year – fourth in the country and nearly 11 percent higher than the national average of 51.1.
- Mizzou has had at least a 10-point halftime lead in 9-of-11 games this season, outscoring foes by an average of 13.2 points (43.7 to 30.5).
Notables
- The Illini are looking for back-to-back Braggin’ Rights victories for the first time since a stretch of five straight wins over Mizzou from 2013 through 2017.
- Sunday’s matchup with Missouri is Illinois’ first game in eight days, following the team’s 66-64 loss at the buzzer to No. 1-ranked Tennessee on Dec. 14, and its only contest in a 14-day period before the team’s final game of the 2024 calendar at sold-out State Farm Center vs. Chicago State on Dec. 29. • Illinois is No. 15 in the NCAA NET rankings through games played Dec. 17. The Illini rank third in the Big Ten. The Fighting Illini are 1-2 away from State Farm Center, including a 1-1 mark in neutral-site contests with a 100-87 loss to then-No. 8 Alabama on Nov. 20 in Birmingham, and a 90-77 victory on Thanksgiving Day vs. then-No. 19 Arkansas in Kansas City.
- Illinois freshman G Kasparas Jakucionis is the second Fighting Illini, alongside Ayo Dosunmnu, and just the one of eight Power Conference players to average 16+ points, 6+ rebounds, and 5.0+ assists since the 2009-10 season. Jakucionis is the only player among that elite group to do so in his freshman season.
Keys to the Game
- Live Ball Turnovers - Missouri forces turnovers on 23.8% of opponent possessions, but they also get steals on 15% of possessions. That leads to ‘pick 2’s’ and easy buckets. Illinois had gotten better, but they have a tendency to be lackadaisical and lose with the ball at times. That won’t get it done on Sunday.
- Attack the Offensive Glass - Illinois is one of the top offensive rebounding teams in the country, while Missouri ranks 304th in defensive rebounding, with only Iowa and LSU worse among Power 5 schools. Illinois has to dominate the offensive glass and get extra opportunities.
- Free Throw Battle - We have two teams that shoot a lot of free throws. Illinois has shot more free throws than their opponents in 9 of 11 games and Missouri has shot more Fts than their opponents in their last 10 games, all wins. The team that gets the opposition into foul trouble and is able to get key players on the bench will have big advantage in this one.
Prediction
This is a tough matchup for Illinois stylistically and freshmen tend to struggle in this game. But Illinois is the more talented team, and they will score if they don’t turn it over. This is a race to 80 points, and the Illini win it 83-77.
