Career Record: 154-103/.599 (8th year)
At Illinois: 69-47/.595 (4th year)
Big Ten: 24-30/.444
Series Notes vs. Missouri
All-Time Series Record: Illinois leads 29-16
Record at St. Louis: Illinois leads 22-12
Last Meeting: Illinois 62, Missouri 59 (12/20/14 at St. Louis)
Series Streak: Illinois W-2
Groce vs. Missouri: 2-1
Braggin' Rights Notes
• Wednesday marks the 35th edition of the Bud Light Braggin' Rights, with Illinois owning a 22-12 advantage over Missouri in the annual rivalry game played in downtown St. Louis.
• Illinois won eight consecutive Braggin' Rights from 1983-90 and won nine of the first 10 games in St. Louis. After Missouri won seven of nine games from 1991-99, Illinois won nine in a row from 2000-08, the longest winning streak in the history of the series. Mizzou then won four straight but the Illini enter this year's contest on a two-year winning streak, claiming each of the last two on their final possession.
• Illinois has one St. Louis area product on its roster in junior guard Malcolm Hill (Fairview Heights, Ill). Hill was the 2013 St. Louis Post-Dispatch All-Metro Player of the Year and is the all-time leading scorer at Belleville East High School (2,067 points). Hill is off to fantastic start this season, currently averaging 18.5 points, 5.8 rebounds, 4.0 assists and 1.5 steals.
• This marks just the ninth time in Braggin' Rights history that neither team is ranked in the Top 25. In the Braggin' Rights series, Illinois is 9-6 when unranked, 12-6 when playing an unranked Missouri, and 5-3 when neither team is ranked.
Braggin' Rights Breakdown
Series Record: Illinois leads 22-12
Current Streak: Illinois W-2
Illinois when ranked: 13-6
Missouri when ranked: 6-10
When both teams are ranked: Illinois leads 6-3
When neither team is ranked: Illinois leads 5-3
In overtime games: Tied 2-2
At Scottrade Center: Illinois leads 13-8
At The Arena: Illinois led 9-4
Illinois' longest winning streak: 9 (2000-08)
Missouri's longest winning streak: 4, twice (1991-94 & 2009-12)
Illinois' largest winning margin: 32 points (2005)
Missouri's largest winning margin: 18 points (1994)
Closest margin: 1 point, 5x (1992, 1993, 2003, 2007 and 2013)
Past Braggin' Rights Games in St. Louis | Top Games
Dec. 10, 1980 - Illinois 84, #14 Missouri 62
Dec. 08, 1981 - #13 Missouri 78, Illinois 68 (OT)
Dec. 28, 1983 - #20 Illinois 66, Missouri 60
Dec. 06, 1984 - #7 Illinois 65, Missouri 50
Dec. 21, 1985 - #15 Illinois 67, Missouri 55
Dec. 23, 1986 - #9 Illinois 92, Missouri 74
Dec. 22, 1987 - Illinois 75, #17 Missouri 63
Dec. 19, 1988 - #5 Illinois 87, #10 Missouri 84
Dec. 20, 1989 - #5 Illinois 101, #4 Missouri 93
Dec. 19, 1990 - Illinois 84, Missouri 81
Dec. 23, 1991 - #16 Missouri 61, Illinois 44
Dec. 23, 1992 - Missouri 66, Illinois 65
Dec. 22, 1993 - Missouri 108, #19 Illinois 107 (3OT)
Dec. 22, 1994 - Missouri 76, #23 Illinois 58
Dec. 20, 1995 - #14 Illinois 96, #15 Missouri 85 (OT)
Dec. 28, 1996 - Illinois 85, Missouri 69
Dec. 23, 1997 - Missouri 75, Illinois 69
Dec. 22, 1998 - #15 Missouri 67, Illinois 62
Dec. 21, 1999 - Missouri 78, #15 Illinois 72
Dec. 21, 2000 - #5 Illinois 86, Missouri 81 (OT)
Dec. 22, 2001 - #9 Illinois 72, #8 Missouri 61
Dec. 21, 2002 - #12 Illinois 85, #11 Missouri 70
Dec. 23, 2003 - #21 Illinois 71, #11 Missouri 70
Dec. 22, 2004 - #1 Illinois 70, Missouri 64
Dec. 21, 2005 - #6?Illinois 82, Missouri 50
Dec. 19, 2006 - Illinois 73, Missouri 70
Dec. 22, 2007 - Illinois 59, Missouri 58
Dec. 23, 2008 - Illinois 75, #25 Missouri 59
Dec. 23, 2009 - Missouri 81, Illinois 68
Dec. 22, 2010 - #9 Missouri 75, #21 Illinois 64
Dec. 22, 2011 - #8 Missouri 78, #25 Illinois 74
Dec. 22, 2012 - #12 Missouri 82, #10 Illinois 73
Dec. 21, 2013 - Illinois 65, #13 Missouri 64
Dec. 20, 2014 - Illinois 62, Missouri 59
Current Illini With Braggin' Rights Experience
Six players on the current UI roster have Braggin' Rights experience. But with Tracy Abrams sidelined for the second straight season and Leron Black out indefinitely, that leaves four who are expected to take the court Wednesday night: juniors Malcolm Hill, Kendrick Nunn, Jaylon Tate and Maverick Morgan.
Hill had 10 points and three rebounds last year after going scoreless in four minutes as a freshman.
Nunn had nine points and five boards last year after contributing three points, two rebounds and a game-high three steals as a freshman.
Tate scored two points last year after tallying one point and one board as a freshman.
Morgan had two points and two rebounds last year after grabbing one board as a freshman.
Opening Tip
Illinois enters Wednesdays's contest vs. Missouri looking to extend its season-best winning streak to five games, and record a victory in its final non-conference game prior to Big Ten play.
Hill Reigning Big Ten Co-Player of the Week
Malcolm Hill was named Big Ten Player of the Week on Monday, sharing the award with Michigan's Caris LeVert. Hill earned the honor after a dominant all-around performance in Saturday's win over South Dakota. Hill scored a career-high 34 points, tied his career high with 11 rebounds, dished out five assists, set a career high with three blocked shots and had two steals in the victory.
His 34 points stands as the second-highest scoring total in the Big Ten this season. It was the most points by an Illini since Brandon Paul scored 35 in a win at Gonzaga (Dec. 8, 2012). He also became the first Fighting Illini in the last 25 years to record a 30-point, 10-rebound, 5-assist game, since Andy Kaufmann had 44 points, 11 rebounds and five assists in a double-overtime win over Wisconsin-Milwaukee (Dec. 3, 1990).
Big Two
Juniors Kendrick Nunn and Malcolm Hill are leading the charge for the Illini offensive attack, ranking as the highest-scoring duo in the Big Ten, and third-highest among the six major conferences so far this season:
1. 38.8 points Kevin Punter (23.0 ppg) & Armani Moore (15.8 ppg) Tennessee
2. 37.3 points Buddy Hield (23.5 ppg) & Isaiah Cousins (13.8 ppg) Oklahoma
3. 36.9 points Malcolm Hill (18.5 ppg) & Kendrick Nunn (18.4 ppg) Illinois
Taking Care of the Rock
Illinois has been one of the best teams in the country under Coach John Groce in taking care of the basketball. Last year's team set a school record for fewest turnovers, averaging just 9.9 per game. That broke the previous school mark of 10.4 per game set by Groce's 2014 squad.
This year the Illini are currently averaging 10.3 turnovers per game, ranking second in the Big Ten and 20th nationally. Illinois also stands second in the conference with a +2.9 turnover margin (46th in NCAA).
Capitalizing Off Turnovers
Over the last five games, Illinois has averaged just 8.6 turnovers (43) while the opponent is nearly double in that category, averaging 15 turnovers (75). The Illini have made the most from those extra opportunities, outscoring the opposition 90-to-41 in points off turnovers over this four-game stretch, a margin of 9.8 points per game.
3-Point Improvement
The Illini have increased their production from behind the arc in recent weeks. Illinois is connecting on an average of 9.8 threes per game over the last six games (59), a vast improvement over the average of 6.5 treys through the first six games. The Illini have drained double figures from three in three of the last six games, led by a season-high 14 triples Saturday vs. South Dakota, after not reaching double figures in any of the first six games.
Illini Trends
• Illinois has started a different lineup in 10 of its first 12 games.
• Five different players have been the Illini's leading scorer in a game this season.
• Illinois is getting an average of 28 points from its bench, outscoring the opposing bench in all but two games, and by an average of 10.3 points per game. Last season the UI averaged 18.7 points in bench scoring.
• Illinois has received at least 30 points from its bench in seven games.
• Illinois ranks 17th nationally in bench minutes, with 40.1 percent of the playing time coming from the bench.
• Malcolm Hill has scored in double figures in every game this season and currently ranks second in the Big Ten in scoring with an average of 18.5 points.
• Hill has 10 career games of 20+ points, including his first stretch of three straight over the last three games with 20 vs. Yale, 22 vs. UIC and 34 vs. South Dakota.
• Hill is averaging 25.3 points (76), 6.7 rebounds (20) and 4.3 assists (13) over the last three games.
• Hill has gotten to the foul line 31 times over the last three games, making 26.
• Hill has shot 50 percent or better from the field in five of the five last six games.
• Hill is currently averaging 4.0 assists this season (13th in Big Ten), after entering the year with a career average of 1.0 assists.
• Kendrick Nunn has scored in double figures in all seven games since making his season debut Nov. 27 and is currently averaging 18.4 points.
• Nunn's scoring average would rank fourth in the Big Ten, but he is currently not listed among the conference statistical leaders because he has yet to play in 75 percent of Illinois' games.
• Nunn, who led the team in 3-pointers last year, has combined for 22 treys over his seven games. His average of 3.1 made threes per game would rank second in the Big Ten.
• Nunn has shot better than 46 percent from the field in five of his seven games.
• Since Nunn's return to the lineup, either Malcolm Hill (3 times) or Nunn (4 times) has been the Illini's leading scorer each of the last seven games.
• Michael Finke is averaging 14.0 points (70) on 61.4 percent shooting (27-44) over the last five games, scoring in double figures four times.
• Jalen Coleman-Lands is averaging 16.0 points (32) and shooting 53.3 percent from 3-point range (8-15) over the last two games.
• Coleman-Lands has made a 3-pointer in eight games this season, and has drained four or more treys in five games, including each of the last two. His average of 2.3 made threes is ninth in the Big Ten.
• Khalid Lewis has combined for 14 assists (7.0 apg) with just one turnover over the last two games.
Complete Illinois-Mizzou Game Notes (PDF)
