Missouri Tigers Preview: Braggin’ Rights Vs. Illinois
By Ron Davis
The Missouri Tigers and Illinois Fighting Illini will meet this Saturday in the 34th edition of the Bud Light Braggin’ Rights game in St. Louis.
Namon Wright and the Missouri Tigers will need to shoot lights out to come out on top of Illinois. Mandatory Credit: Dak Dillon-USA TODAY Sports
The Illini hold the series lead 21-12 with their most recent victory coming last year, a 65-64 win over the Tigers. This years’ Illinois team remains mainly intact from 2013 and comes to the Scott Trade Center boasting 8-3 record, while revamped Mizzou makes the two-hour drive east at 5-5.
Illinois has looked impressive in all of their victories, but was outmatched in losses against ranked Miami and Villanova and fell apart against a lesser Oregon team.
The Illini are led by senior Rayvonte Rice (17.3 ppg) and rising sophomore Malcolm Hill (13 ppg). Down-low senior Nnanna Egwu makes life difficult for those matched up against him, averaging two blocks per game, and he had five last time out against Hampton.
To say it has been an up-and-down season for Missouri is an understatement. The Tigers have yet to play a complete game, as each half they’ve played in they’ve looked like a different team.
In the last outing against Xavier, a 74-58 loss, Mizzou was within one point early in the second half but went into a tailspin towards the end of the game.
Dec 21, 2013; Saint Louis, MO, USA; Illinois Fighting Illini players celebrate defeating the Missouri Tigers at Scottrade Center. The Illinois Fighting Illini defeat the Missouri Tigers 65-64. Mandatory Credit: Jasen Vinlove-USA TODAY Sports
One of the lone bright spots for the Tigers was freshman Jakeenan Gant, who scored 13 points in his first game in the Black & Gold after serving a nine game suspension to start his collegite career.
The key for Missouri will be containing Rice. Rice is a powerful 6-4 230 two-guard, and also leads the Illini in rebounds with 6.5 per game. Namon Wright will likely be matched up against him to start the game, but Kim Anderson would be wise to throw several wrinkles at Rice throughout the contest.
On offense, Mizzou needs to get the ball to Johnathan Williams III, who is having a breakout sophomore campaign (12.2 ppg, 6.2 rpg). Egwu is expected to go against him, so they will need production out of the other front court member whether that be Gant, Ryan Rosburg, or D’Angelo Allen.
Though the Illini are favored to win this game, and win by more than a couple, historically the Braggin’ Rights game has been very close. In fact, the last time this game was not competitive was 2005 when Illinois crushed Missouri 82-50.
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Illinois looks to get back into the NCAA Tournament after missing it last year, and in all likelihood will reach it, but a loss to this Missouri team could derail their hopes.
It may seem like a lost season for the Missouri Tigers, however if they pull off the upset and that springboards a strong conference season, perhaps they could play their way into the Big Dance.
Whether or not that’s a possibility for Mizzou, state pride alone is incentive enough for this team to come out fired up. They don’t call it Braggin’ Rights for nothing. Expect both teams to come out aggressive, and no matter what the score is throughout the game, both teams will fight to the final buzzer.
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