Bragging rights are at stake on Sunday

McBride Homes’ Braggin’ Rights will be on the line Sunday afternoon when the University of Missouri men’s basketball takes on Illinois in St. Louis. Tipoff at Enterprise Center is scheduled for noon on ESPN.



ABOUT THE TIGER
• Mizzou is 10-1 in the 2024-25 season and is currently on a 10-game winning streak, its longest in 11 seasons.
• The Tigers’ winning streak reached double figures on Tuesday with an 83-72 win over Jacksonville State. Jacob Crews led the team with a season-high 19 points in the win.
•Junior Mark Mitchell leads the team with 13.5 points and 1.2 blocks per game.
• Tamar Bates And Anthony Robinson II They also score in double figures at 12.3 and 11.5 points per game, respectively.
• Robinson is also averaging a team-best 4.2 assists and 2.5 steals per game.
• Josh Grey has a team-high 5.3 boards per game.
• MU ranks fifth nationally with an offensive rating of 88.7 points, 70th with a defensive rating of 66.7 and eighth with a points margin of +22.0.



ABOUT THE FIGHTING ILLINI
• Illinois enters Braggin’ Rights with a 7-3 record and begins Big Ten play with a 1-1 record.
• The Illini are coming off a two-point setback against No. 1 Tennessee, 66-64, on Saturday.
• Four players scored in double figures for the Illini, led by Kasparas Jakucionis with 16.1 points, who also averaged a team-best 5.6 assists.
• Tomislav Ivisic is second in scoring with 14.2 points and leads the team with 9.7 rebounds per game.
• Illinois enters the game with an offensive rating of 84.0 points and a defensive rating of 64.6 points.



HISTORY OF THE SERIES
• The two rivals have met annually since 1983, except for the 2020 meeting during COVID season in St. Louis.
• Overall, the Illini hold a 34-20 lead in the series, including a 26-16 lead in St. Louis.
• The Illini have won two of their last three games, including a 97-73 victory last season.
• However, the Tigers have won in four of the last six years, highlighted by a 93-71 victory two years ago.



TIGER VS BIG TEN
• Missouri has played Big Ten schools 144 times in its history, with 54 of the 144 games coming against Illinois.
• Overall, the Tigers have a 58-86 record against the conference.
• In more than two seasons with Dennis Gates As a head coach, MU is 2-1 against the Big Ten, 1-1 against Illinois and defeating Minnesota in 2023.



Stay hot, Mizzou
• The Tigers are one of the hottest teams in the country right now, having won 10 straight games.
• Mizzou has the fourth-longest winning streak in the country heading into Sunday’s game.
• Overall, it is the 12th time in school history that Mizzou has had a double-digit winning streak and the first time since the team won its first 10 games of the season in 2013-14.
• The Tigers last extended their winning streak to 11 on a 14-game run in the 2011-12 season.



Difficult team to plan
• The Tigers are a difficult team to plan for due to the amount of weapons they have.
• On Tuesday, Jacob Crews became the eighth Tiger to lead the team in just 11 games this season.
• The team’s top scorer, Mark Mitchellhas led Mizzou in points only once this season and no player has led MU more than twice.
• No other SEC school had more than six players lead the team in scoring this season.



Offensive leaders
• The Mizzou offense is one of the best in the country this season.
• The Tigers currently rank fourth nationally with an offensive rating of 88.7 points.



NO. 2 INFIELD TARGET PERCENTAGE
• The simple key to MU’s success on offense early in the season is efficient shooting.
• The Tigers currently rank second nationally with a field goal percentage of 52.0 percent.



CONSTANT INJURY
• The key to a good offense is consistency, and the Tigers are certainly doing that so far in the 2024-25 season.
• Missouri has scored at least 75 points in all 11 games this season, its longest streak since 14 games in the 2011-12 season.
• Additionally, MU has shot at least 44 percent in all 11 games, its longest streak since 28 games in the 1988-89 season.



TOP 10 STEELS
• The team’s strength on defense lies in its ability to create turnovers and gain extra possessions.
• Mizzou currently ranks fifth in the country with 10.5 steals per game, which translates to an average turnover of 22.4 points per game.
• Sophomore semester Anthony Robinson II leads MU and ranks 19th nationally with 2.45 steals per game, collecting at least three steals in 6 of 11 contests.