What Missouri Coach Dennis Gates Got Wrong About Illinois' Blowout Performance

Decimation. Destruction. Obliteration. Slaughter. Take your pick. However harsh, all those words accurately describe Illinois’ victory over Missouri on Monday night. In the annual Braggin' Rights game in St. Louis, the Illini demolished the Tigers 91-48. In reality, aside from Mizzou’s 12 offensive rebounds, there wasn’t a semblance of positivity to be found in the Tigers’ performance – and that isn't a coincidence.

Missouri didn’t just have an off night. Illinois forced one on the Tigers. And the Illini weren’t just randomly hot on offense; their opponents couldn’t guard a folding chair – and, for that matter, haven’t been able to all season long (Mizzou's defense ranks No. 127 in the country, per KenPom).

Missouri's Dennis Gates offers poor excuse against Illinois

Yet, seemingly in the eyes of Missouri coach Dennis Gates, his club’s loss was more a result of inherent disadvantages than any shortcomings of his club's side. In fact, in the aftermath, he repeatedly deflected questions, returning over and over to a key, uncontrollable issue: injuries.

“I’m going to give credit to Illinois," Gates said in his postgame press conference. "Illinois is a good team. Do I think we’re a good team? Yeah, I think we’re a good team. But Illinois does not and has not gone through the same things that we’ve gone through this year as it relates to practices and who’s in and who’s out, and sort of just trying to get a unit out there. They’ve been able to gradually improve.”

In Gates' defense, his Tigers were down three rotational players on Monday. Notably, they were without guard Jayden Stone, who is averaging 13.3 points and shooting 41.7 percent from three in six games this season but hasn’t played since November. Also, Missouri was missing Jevon Porter (6.2 points and 4.0 rebounds per game) and Trent Pierce, who has yet to play this season.

If Gates was trying to make an argument about the current availability of Missouri’s full roster, or lack thereof, he would have a point. But that didn't seem to be his stance. He harped, specifically, on the idea that the Tigers haven’t been able to practice at full health – and, subsequently, haven’t had the same opportunity to grow and improve that Illinois has enjoyed.

OK, let’s back up. Gates is correct when he says that a healthy roster and consistently practicing with the same bodies can make all the difference in a team's game readiness. But he is indisputably, 100 percent incorrect in stating that the Illini haven’t “gone through the same things that we’ve gone through this year as it relates to practices and who’s in and who’s out."

Dec 6, 2025; Nashville, Tennessee, USA; Illinois Fighting Illini head coach Brad Underwood yells to his team against the Tennessee Volunteersduring the first half at Bridgestone Arena. Mandatory Credit: Steve Roberts-Imagn Images | Steve Roberts-Imagn Images

Here’s the list of Illini players who have battled injuries thus far: Brandon Lee (ankle), Andrej Stojakovic (knee), Kylan Boswell (shoulder), Tomislav Ivisic (knee), Ty Rodgers (knee), Jason Jakstys (concussion), Zvonimir Ivisic (knee), Mihailo Petrovic (hamstring). That would be eight out of 13 scholarship players, for those keeping track at home. (And that doesn't include the significant amount of offseason practice time missed by Stojakovic, Rodgers and Petrovic due to injuries.)

It has been less than a month since Illinois had the vast majority of its roster healthy enough to practice at the same time. Clearly, this past stretch of nine days between contests worked wonders for the Illini, who finally had the opportunity to work out some of the kinks and grow as a unit.

That’s something that Missouri hasn’t had. But did those nine days directly lead to a 43-point disparity on the scoreboard? And has Illinois truly been able to develop in the manner Underwood would have desired, let alone that Gates describes? Absolutely not.

The Illini have battled the injury bug all season long, and the results have been glaringly obvious. The poor conditioning, defensive mixups and all-around lack of connectivity has been a direct consequence of the team's limited practice reps with a full roster.

And for Gates to specifically point to his squad’s lack of full-health practices and compare it to Illinois’ – which is essentially apples to apples – and then imply that it's the reason his team got blasted by 43 points and outplayed in every facet? He's either being disingenuous or simply hasn't read his own scouting reports.