I-L-L-L: No. 6 Illinois Drops Braggin’ Rights Game to Missouri for Third Straight Year

For the third straight season, Illinois will not be bringing the Braggin’ Rights rivalry trophy back with them to Champaign.

In a game where they played an uninspired brand of basketball and from behind for 36 minutes and nearly the entirety of the second half, No. 6 Illinois was knocked off by Missouri 81-78 in Columbia, Mo., in the first on-campus game of the rivalry since 1979.

Missouri’s experienced and talented guard play of Xavier Pinson, Dru Smith and Javon Pickett overwhelmed the Illini’s seemingly one-man show of Ayo Dosunmu as Cuonzo Martin’s squad added a third straight win in this bitter rivalry series that includes former Illini guard Mark Smith and former Illini commitments Pickett and center Jeremiah Tilmon. Pinson and Dru Smith each had 17 points, while Pickett added 14 points and five boards.

“My team is tough,” Martin said after his third straight win over the Illini. “We’ve taken our share of lumps now over the years with injuries, tough losses and other stuff. My thing that I tell our guys is let’s get one more point than our opponent and we’re good to go. We can deal with the other stuff later.”

The physicality of the game seemed to overwhelm the Illini as they constantly struggled with foul issues and allowed Missouri (5-0) to get 26 points from the foul line and 20 points on the fast break after turnovers.

“Our lack of energy and lack of effort is beyond explanation. I don't have an answer for that." - Illinois head coach Brad Underwood

Saturday night’s game, which was played at Mizzou Arena due to coronavirus epidemic concerns forcing the logistics of having the game at its traditional venue of Enterprise Center in St. Louis impossible, featured 52 foul calls and 59 free throw attempts.

“It was a boxing match tonight and at some point a basketball game broke out,” Martin said. “When you’re talking about trying to beat a top 5 or top 10 team, you need to understand there is a reason they are just that. They have talent. So, you have to fight to win that basketball game.”

Illinois connected on just 17 of 28 free throws and started the game missing eight of its first 17 attempts.

One of the standout foul calls was a flagrant 1 foul call on Illinois sophomore center Kofi Cockburn after he appeared to unintentionally connect with the face of Missouri forward Mitchell Smith on a post-up action that resulted in a two-handed dunk. The basket put Illinois down just two with 40 seconds left. However, Illinois head coach Brad Underwood said in the post-game press conference that one of the officials told the Illinois bench the flagrant 1 was automatic because replay video clearly showed the contact was above Smith’s shoulders.

Less than a week after watching his team take home a 15-point wire-to-wire win at No. 10 Duke, Underwood said he was extremely disappointed in the effort level of his team in what is supposed to be a passionate rivalry.

“Our lack of energy and lack of effort is beyond explanation. I don't have an answer for that,” Underwood said. “When you're not making free throws, you're not mentally sharp. When one guy has 36 (points), we're not going to win."

That “one guy” for Illinois (4-2) was Dosunmu as he finished with a career-high 36 points but accounted for 13 of the team’s 29 made field goals. The preseason All-America selection, who is 0-3 in this rivalry game since arriving at Illinois, also had a team-high six turnovers and just one assist. Dosunmu’s lack of execution and the Illini’s inability to get anybody on the perimeter going was evident down the stretch as they scored just two points in the final five possessions that included a missed runner off the side of the backboard, an offensive foul and an awkward-looking forced three-pointer to end all hope for a comeback.

“It's terrible ball movement. We are never going to win with Ayo doing what he did tonight (having 36 points),” Underwood said. “I hate everything about it."

Illinois, which came into the game No. 5 in Division 1 in defensive rebounding and near the top of Division 1 in offensive rebounding, failed to secure an individual offensive rebounding for the first 30 minutes of the contest.

“That is all effort. I will get that problem solved I promise you,” Underwood said. “Nobody on our team had an offensive rebound in the first half. I don't know if I've ever had that happen in my coaching career. Ever."

While Missouri got a quality effort from all of its veteran guards except Mark Smith, who fouled out with just six points, Illinois got a four-point outing from senior Trent Frazier and a three-point outing from senior Da’Monte Williams.

“I feel like that's a self-explanatory question,” Dosunmu said about losing three Braggin’ Rights games in a row in his Illinois career. “I'm a competitor. 0-3."

Illinois will begin Big Ten Conference play Tuesday night with a 6 p.m. tip at State Farm Center against an undefeated Minnesota (6-0) squad.