Fighting Illini Prepare For Tigers
December 17, 2002 | Men's Basketball
Dec. 17, 2002
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Series History - Missouri
Illinois leads the all-time series, 20-12, including 13-8 in Braggin'
Rights games at St. Louis. The Illini have won both matchups with
the Tigers under Bill Self including an 86-81 overtime win in 2000
and a 72-61 win last season.
Braggin' Rights Notes
Illinois owns a 13-8 advantage over Missouri
in Braggin' Rights games played in St. Louis
... Illinois won eight consecutive games
from 1983-90 and won nine of the first 10
games played in St. Louis ... This is only the
third time in Braggin' Rights history that
both Illinois and Missouri enter the game
with undefeated records. The most recent
time came in 1989, with Illinois at 6-0 and
Missouri at 9-0 heading into the game, a
101-93 Illini victory. The first time was in
1981, a matchup of 2-0 Illinois and 3-0
Missouri, with Missouri winning 78-68 in
overtime ... This is the fifth time in Braggin'
Rights history that both teams are ranked in
the Top 25 ... Last season featured both
teams ranked among the nation's Top 10,
with No. 9 Illinois defeating No. 8 Missouri
72-61. It marked the first time since 1989
that both teams were ranked in the Top 10.
In that game, No. 5 Illinois beat No. 4
Missouri 101-93 ... Senior Brian Cook
scored a career-high 25 points during the
2000 Braggin' Rights game, an 86-81 over-time
victory for the Illini.
Last Time Out --
Illinois 70, Temple 54
Brian Cook tied his career high with 25
points and pulled down a season-high 11
rebounds to record his ninth career double-
double as Illinois defeated Temple 70-54
Saturday at the United Center. Dee Brown
added 15 points, all of which came in the
second half, and Deron Williams played a
steady game, finishing with eight points, a
season-high seven assists and five rebounds.
Bench Play
The Illinois bench has begun the season very
productive, averaging 26.9 points and 10.7
rebounds, while limiting the opponents'
bench to 14.1 points and 7.9 rebounds.
Illinois' bench is outscoring the opponents'
by nearly 13 points per game and is outre-bounding
the opponents by almost three
boards per game.
Un-Self-ish Play
The Fighting Illini have begun the 2002-03
season with unselfish play. Illinois leads the
Big Ten in assists (19.7 per game), highlighted
by a season-high 24 assists vs. Arkansas-Pine
Bluff and 23 against both Western
Illinois and North Carolina. Illinois has tal-lied
22 or more assists in four of seven games
and has recorded assists on over 63 percent
of its baskets (138 assists on 218 FG) on the
season. Guards Dee Brown and Deron
Williams rank fourth and fifth, respectively,
in the Big Ten in assists with Brown averag-ing
4.9 and Williams averaging 4.7.
Cook Keeps on Cookin'
After sitting out the first two games of the
season (along with teammate Jerrance
Howard) as an NCAA penalty for playing in
an unsanctioned summer basketball tourna-ment,
senior Brian Cook has returned and
immediately established himself in the Illini
lineup. In his first game back vs. Western
Illinois, Cook scored a game-high 17 points
and grabbed six rebounds. He was Illinois'
top scorer and rebounder in the win over
North Carolina, scoring a season-high 22
points and pulling down eight boards. He
scored a game-high 18 points with four
boards vs. Arkansas, then racked up 21
points and had six rebounds vs. Eastern
Illinois. He had his best game of the year
against Temple, tying his career high with 25
points and pulling down a season-high 11
rebounds to record the ninth double-double
of his career. Cook ranks second in the Big
2002-03 Illinois Basketball Notes ... page 2
FIGHTING ILLINI HOOP NOTES
Illini Head Coach Bill Self
Bill Self is in his third season at the
helm of the Illini program following three
years at Tulsa where he earned National
Coach of the Year honors from the John &
Nellie Wooden Foundation and The
Sporting News in 2000.
At Illinois, he became the second coach
in Big Ten history, and the first since
1912-14, to win Big Ten titles in his first
two years in the league. He is the first
coach in Illinois history to reach 50 wins
in his first two seasons. Self has led teams
to at least the NCAA Sweet Sixteen each of
the last three seasons, including two trips
to the Final Eight.
