Halftime Report
Illinois is on the road but looking no worse for wear. They are fully in control with a 49-24 lead over Missouri.
Illinois already has four blowout wins this season, but why stop there? Barring a freak comeback, they will be celebrating another huge victory in the locker room very soon.
Who’s Playing
Illinois Fighting Illini @ Missouri Tigers
Current Records: Illinois 8-2, Missouri 7-4
How To Watch
What to Know
Illinois and Missouri are an even 4-4 against one another since December of 2015, but not for long. The Illinois Fighting Illini will take on the Missouri Tigers in a holiday battle at 9:00 p.m. ET on Friday at at Enterprise Center. Missouri does have the home-court advantage, but Illinois is expected to win by 6.5 points.
Last Sunday, the Fighting Illini strolled past the Raiders with points to spare, taking the game 74-57.
Among those leading the charge was Quincy Guerrier, who scored 15 points along with seven rebounds.
Meanwhile, Missouri pushed their score all the way to 87 on Sunday, but even that wasn’t enough to win. They fell 93-87 to the Pirates. Missouri has now taken an ‘L’ in back-to-back games.
Missouri’s defeat came about despite a quality game from Tamar Bates, who scored 22 points. As a matter of fact, that’s the most points Bates has scored all season. Sean East II was another key contributor, scoring 16 points along with six assists.
Even though they lost, Missouri were smashing the offensive glass and finished the game with 15 offensive rebounds. That’s the most offensive rebounds they’ve managed all season.
The Fighting Illini pushed their record up to 8-2 with that win, which was their fourth straight at home. Those victories were due in large part to their offensive dominance across that stretch, as they averaged 83.3 points per game. As for the Tigers, their loss dropped their record down to 7-4.
Friday’s contest is shaping up to be a scrappy match: Illinois have been smashing the glass this season, having averaged 44.8 rebounds per game (they’re ranked third in rebounds per game overall). It’s a different story for Missouri, though, as they’ve been averaging only 32.3 rebounds per game. Given Illinois’ sizeable advantage in that area, Missouri will need to find a way to close that gap.
Illinois might still be hurting after the devastating 93-71 loss they got from Missouri in their previous matchup back in December of 2022. Thankfully for Illinois, Kobe Brown (who scored 31 points along with eight assists and five rebounds) won’t be suiting up this time. Will that be enough to change the final result? Check CBSSports.com after the match to find out.
Odds
Illinois is a solid 6.5-point favorite against Missouri, according to the latest college basketball odds.
The oddsmakers were right in line with the betting community on this one, as the game opened as a 6.5-point spread, and stayed right there.
The over/under is set at 149.5 points.
See college basketball picks for every single game, including this one, from SportsLine’s advanced computer model. Get picks now.
Series History
Missouri and Illinois both have 4 wins in their last 8 games.
- Dec 22, 2022 – Missouri 93 vs. Illinois 71
- Dec 22, 2021 – Illinois 88 vs. Missouri 63
- Dec 12, 2020 – Missouri 81 vs. Illinois 78
- Dec 21, 2019 – Missouri 63 vs. Illinois 56
- Dec 22, 2018 – Missouri 79 vs. Illinois 63
- Dec 23, 2017 – Illinois 70 vs. Missouri 64
- Dec 21, 2016 – Illinois 75 vs. Missouri 66
- Dec 23, 2015 – Illinois 68 vs. Missouri 63
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