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Match Details
Fixture: Illinois Fighting Illini vs. Missouri Tigers - NCAA Men's Basketball
Date & Time: Saturday, December 12th, 2020, 8 PM ET
Venue: Mizzou Arena, Columbia, Missouri
The No. 6 Illinois Fighting Illini looked dominant in their win at Duke in the Big Ten/ACC Challenge on Tuesday night. The Fighting Illini will now look to hand the Missouri Tigers their first loss of the season on Saturday night. This game was in question of being played prior to the start of the season, but both schools have given the green light. The home-court was determined by a coin flip, which lead to Missouri being the host to this year's Braggin' Rights rivalry game.
Illinois Fighting Illini Preview
The Illinois Fighting Illini passed a big test defeating No. 10 Duke on Tuesday night. This was the first time the Fighting Illini beat a ranked non-conference opponent since the 2013-2014 season. Illinois broke this streak by controlling the pace of the game and having an impressive shooting night from three.
The Illinois Fighting Illini shot a deadly 63.6 percent from beyond the arc. They will look to continue their hot shooting streak on the road against the Missouri Tigers.
Key Player - Ayo Dosunmu
Ayo Dosunmu was the star of the show last Tuesday night against Duke. The junior guard led his team in points, assists and rebounds with a stat line of 18/12/5. He was active on both ends of the floor and controlled the pace for the Illinois Fighting Illini. His play for the remainder of the season will dictate how good Illinois will be.
Illinois Fighting Illini Predicted Lineup
Kofi Cockburn, Trent Frazier, Da'Monte Williams, Ayo Dosunmu, Adam Miller
Missouri Tigers Preview
The Missouri Tigers are 4-0 to start the season. This is their best start since 2003. The Tiger are legit, as they collected a win against No. 21 Oregon earlier in the season.
What the Tigers do well is rebound the basketball as they do not allow for second-chance points. Missouri is averaging 39.5 rebounds a game and have a +7 margin in rebounds compared to their opponents. The 2012 Big 12 Champions will look to hit the boards and slow down Illinois' offense on Saturday Night.
Key Player - Mark Smith
Mark Smith is the leader of the Missouri Tigers. The senior out of Illinois is the team's leading scorer with 17.3 points per game. The guard has been impressive from three-point land this season, shooting at 52 percent. Smith will need to continue to shoot at a high percentage to space the floor against Illinois defense.
Missouri Tigers Predicted Lineup
Jeremiah Tilmon, Kobe Brown, Dru Smith, Mark Smith, Xavier Pinson
Illinois vs. Missouri Prediction
The Missouri Tigers will put up a good fight against the Illinois Fighting Illini, but ultimately Illinois will be too much to handle. The Fighting Illini will gain this year's bragging rights in a tightly contested matchup.
How to watch Illinois vs. Missouri
The game will be broadcasted live on SEC Network’s alternate channel.
