How to Watch: Illinois Basketball vs. Missouri (Game 11)

With Braggin' Rights on the line, the Illini must keep their cool with the ball against an aggressive Tigers D

Illinois forward (15) Jake Davis makes a move against Tennessee forward Cade Phillips in the Illinis 66-64 defeat against the Volunteers last Saturday at State Farm Center in Champaign, Illinois. | University of Illinois

How to Watch

Illinois (7-3, 1-1 Big Ten) vs. Missouri (10-1, 0-0 SEC)

Day and time: Saturday (Dec. 22) at noon CT
Venue: Enterprise Center, St. Louis, Missouri
TV: ESPN
Stream: ESPN app
Listen: WDWS-AM 1400 (Champaign)
WLS-AM 890 (Chicago)
Illini Sports Network affiliates (other local markets)
Varsity Network app
SiriusXM 146 or 195
SXM App 957

Odds and Ends

Favorite: Illinois (-3.5*)
Over/under: 155.5*
Illinois vs. Missouri all time: Illinois leads the series 34-20
Streak: Illinois has won one in a row against Missouri
Last meeting: No. 13 Illinois 97, Missouri 73 (Dec. 22, 2023 at the Enterprise Center in St. Louis)

*Figures as of Saturday night

Probable Illinois starters:

G Kasparas Jakucionis
G Kylan Boswell
G Tre White
F Ben Humrichous
C Tomislav Ivisic

A holiday classic.

📅 Dec. 22
🆚 Missouri
⏰ 12 p.m. CT
📍 Enterprise Center, St. Louis, Mo.
📺 ESPN#Illini | #HTTO | #EveryDayGuys pic.twitter.com/bqgdGeNyMl

— Illinois Men's Basketball (@IlliniMBB) December 21, 2024

Smart-Fan Stuff

Key stat: 93.2

Illinois' newcomers have accounted for 93.2 percent of its scoring in the 2024-25 season – including 43.7 percent provided by its freshmen. Missouri can relate. Key contributors Mark Mitchell (Duke), Tony Perkins (Iowa) and Marques Warrick (Northern Kentucky) are all transfers who were playing elsewhere a year ago, and even Tigers leading scorer Caleb Grill was absent for last year's Braggin' Rights game because of a wrist injury. Honestly, don't bother spending much time trying to gain insights about this matchup from last season's. There aren't many to be had.

Quick tips:

• Illinois' 7-3 record at this stage may be a bit of a downer to some, but the Illini rank No. 15 in the NET rankings. Their .700 winning percentage is the lowest among teams in the NET top 15, an indication that the NCAA evaluation tool appreciates Illinois' full resume, including efficiency on both sides of the floor and the quality of both wins and losses.
• Missouri leads the nation in bench scoring (44.6 points per game), with Grill (13.6) leading the way. Illinois would seem to have some of the best depth in college basketball as well, but the contributions of Morez Johnson Jr., Will Riley, Dra Gibbs-Lawhorn and Jake Davis may be more critical than usual in this matchup.

Illinois on SI Prediction

The Tigers are on a tear – 10 wins in a row, including an upset of then-No. 1 Kansas on Dec. 8 in Columbia. To describe their run as smoke and mirrors doesn't give enough credit to a deep group and a swarming defense (16.3 turnovers forced per game) that has the potential to cause legitimate problems for an Illini team that has played it too fast and loose with possessions at times this season.

The key for Illinois will be putting point guard Kasparas Jakucionis into comfortable situations (plenty of high screen-and-roll action, for instance) and to keep from getting sped up by the Tigers' D. If the Illini stay sharp, move the ball effectively and are patient within the flow of the offense – rather than reverting to hero ball – they can rely on their spacing, shooting and, if all else fails, second-chance opportunities: Illinois ranks eighth in the NCAA in rebounding margin (plus-11.4) while Mizzou – despite playing a fairly cushy schedule to this point – rank No. 174 (plus-2.5).

Illinois 82, Missouri 76

More From Illinois on Sports Illustrated:

Illinois Basketball vs. Missouri: Odds, Trends and Prediction

Illinois Basketball vs. Missouri Key Matchup: Tre White vs. Mark Mitchell

3 Big Questions for Illinois Basketball vs. Missouri