Thursday night in CBB will see the Illinois Fighting Illini travel to St Louis to take on the Missouri Tigers. The game is scheduled for a 9:00 pm tipoff and will be televised live on ESPN2. Currently Missouri is favored by 7 points with the total being set at 139.5 for this game. The ninth-ranked Missouri Tigers put their flawless record on the line this evening in St. Louis, as they take on the 25th-ranked Illinois Fighting Illini in the annual Busch Braggin' Rights Game at the Scottrade Center.
Free Analysis: Frank Haith has yet to experience a loss at the helm in Columbia, as the first-year head coach has Missouri running on all cylinders thus far. The Tigers have won all 11 games this season, one of just six unbeatens left in the nation. Missouri comes into this rivalry red-hot on offense, shooting 60 percent over its last two games. It has four players scoring in double figures and six players averaging over eight points per game. All- American candidate Marcus Denmon leads this attack at 19.6 ppg. He is followed by fellow guard Kim English and his 16.0 ppg. The pair have been a lethal combo from long range, combining for 66 of the team's 94 three-pointers to date. Overall Missouri has had no trouble generating offense this season, averaging 87.9 ppg on 52.6 percent shooting. The Tigers can score from anywhere on the floor, shooting .407 from behind the arc and a steady .779 from the free-throw line. This team isn't a 1 trick pony either as they have been very solid at the defensive end where they have allowed just 60.2 ppg (55th) on 40% shooting (81st). This is a complete team at both ends of the floor. Bruce Weber's Illini have been almost as impressive this season, with the team's one loss coming against a strong UNLV squad last weekend, 64-48. Illinois was able to gain some distance from that lone loss with Monday's 64-60 win over Cornell. The Fighting Illini's grind-it-out pace will be a contrast to the fast-and-furious style of the Tigers. The Fighting Illini do the most damage when feeding the ball inside to 7-footer Meyers Leonard, who will tower over the smaller Tigers on the inside, but he has struggled with foul trouble at times this season. Illinois is a defensive-minded team, holding opponents to just 57.4 ppg, on 38.5 percent shooting, while netting 69.0 ppg on 44.3% shooting, but they do have some scoring options, with four of the five starters averaging double figures. Richardson leads the charge with 14.4 ppg. Leonard is a close second at 13.3 ppg, followed by Sam Maniscalco and Paul with 10.9 and 10.7 ppg, respectively. Illinois is also solid from the line, hitting 73% of their FT's (50th). Illinois holds a 27-14 lead in this heated rivalry, but Missouri has won the last two meetings, including last year's 75-64 decision.
Free Pick: Illinois may be ranked in the top 25, but they really haven't played all that well in beating Cornell by just 4, St. Bonnaventure by just 5, Illinois State by just 4 and they struggled will Coppin State be for pulling a way late, while their only loss was by 16 vs UNLV. Not too impressive. Missouri on the other hand has blown out the teams they should and they have been awesome at home putting up 88.4 ppg on 52.8% shooting, while allowing just 60 ppg on 41.4% shooting. Missouri has beat the likes of Cal, Notre Dame and Villanova all by DD and have outscored their opponents by 27.7 ppg overall on the year. The illini are a young team with just 1 starter returning and I do not see them holding up vs the pressure defense the Tigers will employ here. Missouri has all 5 starters back and they are a very deep team and should make it their 12th game of the year in which they won by DD.