Illinois head basketball coach John Groce (R) greets Missouri head basketball coach Kim Anderson during a practice session for both teams at the Scottrade Center in St. Louis on December 22, 2015. Missouri and Illinois will play each other in the Annual Braggin' Rights game on December 23, 2015. Photo by Bill Greenblatt/UPI

Illinois head basketball coach John Groce (R) greets Missouri head basketball coach Kim Anderson during a practice session for both teams at the Scottrade Center in St. Louis on December 22, 2015. Missouri and Illinois will play each other in the Annual Braggin’ Rights game on December 23, 2015. Photo by Bill Greenblatt/UPI

Mizzou Men’s Basketball looks to stay above the .500 mark this evening when they tip-off against Illinois for the 35th Annual Braggin’ Rights Game at the Scottrade Center in St. Louis.  Illinois leads the overall series 22-12 including the last two.

Kim Anderson’s Tigers are led in scoring by freshman forward Kevin Puryear’s 12.1 points per game. Puryear has scored in double figures in seven of Mizzou’s 10 games. Three of Mizzou’s top five scorers are freshmen, with guards Terrence Phillips and K.J. Walton averaging 9.4 and 6.0 points per game, following Puryear respectively.

 

Illinois (7-5) enters the Braggin’ Rights Game as winners of four-straight games and have scored 80 points or more six times. John Groce’s  Fighting Illini are led by the dual scoring threat of junior guard Malcolm Hill and junior guard Kendrick Nunn, who average 18.5 and 18.4 points per game.

Other players to watch:

Mizzou’s sophomore forward Jakeenan Gant has a team-high 10 blocks through the first 10 games of the season.

Illinois’ graduate transfer forward Mike Thorne, Jr. leads the Illini on the glass with 8.4 rebounds per game.

History of the Braggin’ Rights game

1980 December 10 Illinois 84-62 Missouri (#14)
1981 December 8 Missouri (#13) 78-68 (OT) Illinois
1983 December 28 Illinois (#20) 66-60 Missouri
1984 December 6 Illinois (#7) 65-50 Missouri
1985 December 21 Illinois (#15) 67-55 Missouri
1986 December 23 Illinois (#9) 92-74 Missouri
1987 December 22 Illinois 75-63 Missouri (#17)
1988 December 19 Illinois (#5) 87-84 Missouri (#10) 18,561
1989 December 20 Illinois (#5) 101-93 Missouri (#4) 18,398
1990 December 19 Illinois 84-81 Missouri 17,253
1991 December 23 Missouri (#16) 61-44 Illinois 18,034
1992 December 23 Missouri 66-65 Illinois 18,379
1993 December 22 Missouri 108-107 (3OT) Illinois (#19)
1994 December 22 Missouri 76-58 Illinois (#23) 21,714
1995 December 20 Illinois (#14) 96-85 (OT) Missouri (#15) 21,901
1996 December 28 Illinois 85-69 Missouri 22,371
1997 December 23 Missouri 75-69 Illinois 22,371
1998 December 22 Missouri (#15) 67-62 Illinois 22,471
1999 December 21 Missouri 78-72 Illinois (#15) 22,484
2000 December 21 Illinois (#5) 86-81 (OT) Missouri 22,089
2001 December 22 Illinois (#9) 72-61 Missouri (#8) 22,153
2002 December 21 Illinois (#12) 85-70 Missouri (#11) 22,153
2003 December 23 Illinois (#21) 71-70 Missouri (#11) 22,153
2004 December 22 Illinois (#1) 70-64 Missouri 22,153
2005 December 21 Illinois (#6) 82-50 Missouri 22,153
2006 December 19 Illinois 73-70 Missouri 22,153
2007 December 22 Illinois 59-58 Missouri 21,941
2008 December 23 Illinois 75-59 Missouri (#25) 19,586
2009 December 23 Missouri 81-68 Illinois 20,497
2010 December 22 Missouri (#9) 75-64 Illinois (#21) 21,906
2011 December 22 Missouri (#9) 78-74 Illinois (#25) 22,087
2012 December 22 Missouri (#12) 82-73 Illinois (#10) 22,139
2013 December 21 Illinois 65-64 Missouri (#23) 21,987
2014 December 20 Illinois 62-59 Missouri 20,079