St. Louis, Mo. – The Missouri men’s basketball team dominated from start to finish against nationally-ranked Illinois on Thursday night, earning a 93-71 victory at Enterprise Center to win the McBride Homes Braggin’ Rights Game. With the win, the Tigers improve to 11-1 on the year, while the No. 16 Illini drop to 8-4.
The win was the first for the Tigers against a ranked opponent this season, while also marking Mizzou’s fifth-straight victory over a ranked Illinois team.
Senior Kobe Brown was the story from tip-off to the final buzzer, logging 31 points in addition to eight assists, five rebounds and four steals in the winning effort. With a free throw at 5:26 in the second half, Brown broke the record for most points ever scored by a Tiger in a Braggin’ Rights game with his final tally of 31.
Graduate student D’Moi Hodge also stood out in the victory, registering 20 points, including draining four threes. Graduate student DeAndre Gholston and junior Ronnie DeGray III also scored in double figures with 15 and 10 points, respectively.
Mizzou jumped out to a 6-0 lead to start the contest, before Illinois quickly tied the game. The teams traded points until the 13-minute mark of the first half, where Mizzou took full control of the contest. Trailing by two points, 12-10, the Tigers put together a 20-2 run to take a 30-14 lead with less than six minutes remaining in the half. Hodge drained three triples during the stretch, while the Tigers forced the Illini into nine-straight misses from the field.
Mizzou followed up that run, by adding a further 10 points in just 52 seconds later in the period as the Tigers held a 51-27 lead heading into the break.
The Tigers carried the momentum into the start of the second half, outscoring the Illini, 17-8, in the first five minutes with Brown being responsible for nine of the points. The Tigers kept up the pressure for the second half, never leading by less than 21 points en route to the 93-71 victory.
Mizzou finished the contest shooting 59.3 percent from the field, including 10-of-20 (50%) from behind the arc. They also logged 23 assists, their eighth game of 20-plus assists this season. The Tigers held Illinois to 25-of-62 (40.3%) from the field and allowed just 22.6 percent shooting from 3-point range – the Illini’s lowest mark of the season.
UP NEXT
The Tigers pick up SEC play following the holiday break, hosting No. 19 Kentucky on Wednesday, Dec. 28. First tip at Mizzou Arena is set for 6 p.m.
