Illinois 68, Missouri 63
Scottrade Center // Dec. 23, 2015 // Attendance: 14,456

1. Illinois won its third consecutive Bud Light Braggin' Rights game on Wednesday, defeating Mizzou 68-63. Illinois improves to 8-5 on the season and 23-12 overall in the Braggin' Rights series. Illinois has won 12 of the last 16 Braggin' Rights games.
2. Illinois extends its season-best win streak to five games with the 68-63 win over Missouri and is now 8-5 overall.
3. Each of the last three Braggin' Rights games (all Illini wins) have been decided by five points or less.
4. The Orange and Blue used the same starting lineup in back-to-back games for the third time this season. The Illini are 2-0 when starting Jaylon Tate, Jalen Coleman-Lands, Kendrick Nunn, Malcolm Hill and Michael Finke.
5. After trailing by as many as five early in the first half, the Illini used an 8-0 run to regain the lead over Mizzou halfway through the period and never trailed from that point on.
6. Kendrick Nunn helped build momentum for the Illini in the first half, throwing down back-to-back dunks less than a minute apart. He recorded 11 first-half points, going 5-for-7 from the field and adding six rebounds to his stat line.
7. Illinois held Missouri without a bucket for more than four minutes in the first half (4:26) forcing five Mizzou turnovers in that span and scoring 10 points to take a 14-point lead over the Tigers into halftime.
8. The dynamic duo of Kendrick Nunn (19) and Malcolm Hill (21 points) finished with a combined 40 points in the game. Nunn and Hill entered the game averaging 36.9 points per game, the third-best among the six major conference.
9. Illinois led by as many as 20 early in the second half (50-30), but Mizzou fought back with a 15-0 run over a nine minute span to close the gap and within five points. They closed to within three at one point in the final seconds (66-63), but Kendrick Nunn sealed the game with two free throws.
10. Illinois hit 8-of-10 free throws in the final 40 seconds to close close out the game and fend off the Mizzou rally.
11. Illinois committed just seven turnovers in the game, the lowest since committing just five against Yale (Dec. 9) and three fewer than its season average of 10.3 per game.
12. Kendrick Nunn grabbed four steals, matching the most for an Illini this season. Both Jalen Coleman-Lands and Malcolm Hill have recorded four steals in a game this season as well.
13. Three Illini scored in double-figures on the night, Malcolm Hill (21), Kendrick Nunn (19), Michael Finke (16). At least three Illini have put up double-digits in four of the last five games.
14. Malcolm Hill finished with 21 points, continuing his double-digit scoring streak. He has scored in double-digits every game this season and has put up 20 or more points four straight game and 11 times in his career.
15. Kendrick Nunn's pulled down career-high 11 rebounds in the game to go along with his 19 points, marking his first career double-double.