Illinois' Shutdown of Missouri's Mark Mitchell Signals Bigger Things Ahead

On Dec. 22, 2024, Illinois and Missouri duked it out in St. Louis in a tightly contested battle that went wire to wire. Although the Illini ultimately prevailed 80-77, that process wasn’t aided by the Tigers’ Mark Mitchell, who went for 18 points, while attempting 12 free throws (Missouri shot 37 as a team).

A year to the day later, the two squads met again, in the same location, and the result was very different – in every way imaginable. Illinois held Mitchell to a season-low five points. The star forward entered the game averaging over 18 points per game and had scored in single digits just once prior to Monday night (nine in minimal minutes in a blowout season-opening win over Howard).

we’re talking back-to-back-to-back pic.twitter.com/YTaOJxpyYB
— Illinois Men's Basketball (@IlliniMBB) December 23, 2025

Hampered in part by Mitchell’s struggles, Missouri managed just 48 total points against Illinois. The Illini, known for their offense (they scored 91 points Monday) were superb in every facet, but they turned the most heads on the defensive end. Everyone knows Illinois can score, but especially on the heels of a nightmare defensive showing against Nebraska, the defensive questions remained abundant.

But the Illini answered each and every one of them in convincing fashion, suffocating a previously potent Tigers offense, mainly by taking Mitchell completely out of the game. So how exactly did Illinois do it? Here’s Illini coach Brad Underwood’s take:

Brad Underwood details how Illinois locked up Missouri's Mark Mitchell

“The one thing with Mark [Mitchell] is, you can’t let him get in transition," Underwood said in the postgame press conference. "I thought that was first and foremost – that we were attentive in transition. Secondly, it’s not one guy [that is] going to stop him. So I thought we were very active in our gaps with him. I thought we did a really good job of not letting him get easy ones on the offensive glass. A talented guy, he had a big night last year against us. I think he shot 12 free throws, and we talked a lot about it, and I thought David [Mirkovic] did a really good job of not fouling him.”

Illinois’ prodigious length should ensure that the defense thrives, especially in terms of paint protection, but that hadn’t been the case – until Monday night. Everything the Illini D was seemingly capable of was finally unveiled for a full 40 minutes against Missouri.

Rejected by Zvonimir Ivisic! 😤 @IlliniMBB pic.twitter.com/qYArfAhOoX
— FOX College Hoops (@CBBonFOX) December 23, 2025

As Underwood noted, the Illini sat in gaps and found the perfect balance of physicality without fouling. Then again. they also ran into a Tigers squad that couldn’t hit the broad side of a barn. The interior defense was second to none, but it was undoubtedly aided by Missouri’s inability to shoot the ball from deep (6-for-22 from long range).

The Tigers have a few talented three-point shooters, but they also have one of the least balanced shooting attacks in the country. Almost always featuring multiple non-shooters at any given time, Missouri is easy to load up on – and Illinois’ length proved to be detrimental to all the Tigers’ downhill attacks.

This was one of the few outings in which the Illini had the ability to build an army around the rim without having to worry much about stretching its defenses – a picture-perfect matchup for Illinois.

Even so, it was still far and away the most encouraging performance of the season for Illinois on that end. Previously, the issue was the lack of attention to detail and the mental miscues. On Monday, the Illini displayed chess grandmaster-level focus and attentiveness in a nearly mistake-free exhibition for the ages. The scouting report was clear – and Illinois followed it to a tee, across the board.

Nothing signified that more than the Illini shutting down Mitchell. Sure, few teams rely as heavily on one player as Missouri does on Mitchell. But then again, what about Ohio State and Bruce Thornton? The exact same thing could be said of Thornton, yet the Illini allowed the Buckeyes guard to hang 34 points (13-for-17 from the field) on them.

Illinois may have left Columbus with a win, but it wasn’t convincing, nor was it ever comfortable. The difference Monday? The Illini weren’t just hot on offense. They played with a fiery intensity paired with surgeon-like focus to produce their best defensive output to date.

If they can remove stars such as Mitchell from games while holding the rest of an opposing lineup at bay in the future, Illinois can beat anyone in the Big Ten – including a Michigan team that appears invincible at the moment.