| Illinois Probable Starters (from last game) |
| Pos. |
No. |
Name |
Ht. |
Wt. |
Yr. |
PPG |
RPG |
APG |
Note |
| G |
1 |
Trent Frazier |
6-1 |
170 |
So. |
15.4 |
2.4 |
3.4 |
1.7 spg (3rd in B1G) |
| G |
20 |
Da'Monte Williams |
6-3 |
200 |
So. |
4.7 |
3.6 |
1.3 |
11 steals |
| G |
23 |
Aaron Jordan |
6-5 |
210 |
Sr. |
10.0 |
5.4 |
2.1 |
.446 3FG (25-56) |
| F |
2 |
Kipper Nichols |
6-6 |
220 |
r-Jr. |
9.7 |
3.1 |
1.2 |
14.0 ppg in last four |
| F |
15 |
Giorgi Bezhanishvili |
6-9 |
235 |
Fr. |
9.9 |
4.7 |
1.2 |
2.5 OREB/gm (10th in B1G) |
| Off the Bench |
| Pos. |
No. |
Name |
Ht. |
Wt. |
Yr. |
PPG |
RPG |
APG |
Note |
| G |
0 |
Alan Griffin |
6-5 |
180 |
Fr. |
4.3 |
1.9 |
0.6 |
41.2% 3FG (7-17) |
| G |
3 |
Drew Cayce |
6-1 |
175 |
r-Jr. |
0.0 |
0.5 |
0.3 |
Walkon in third year |
| F |
4 |
Zach Griffith |
6-6 |
210 |
So. |
0.0 |
0.5 |
0.5 |
Walkon is former manager |
| G |
5 |
Tevian Jones |
6-7 |
205 |
Fr. |
3.2 |
1.7 |
0.3 |
8 pts, 4 reb vs UE |
| G |
10 |
Andres Feliz |
6-2 |
185 |
Jr. |
7.5 |
2.5 |
2.5 |
19 pts, 7-11 FG vs. UNLV |
| G |
11 |
Ayo Dosunmu |
6-5 |
185 |
Fr. |
12.0 |
4.5 |
3.2 |
Leads B1G frosh in steals |
| C |
12 |
Adonis De La Rosa |
7-0 |
260 |
Gr. |
2.8 |
2.4 |
0.1 |
Grad transfer from Kent St. |
| F |
22 |
Anthony Higgs |
6-8 |
235 |
Fr. |
- |
- |
- |
Won 2 HS state titles in MD |
| G |
32 |
Tyler Underwood |
6-2 |
180 |
r-Jr. |
0.4 |
0.6 |
0.3 |
Son of Coach Underwood |
| C |
34 |
Samba Kane |
7-0 |
220 |
Fr. |
2.8 |
0.8 |
0.0 |
8 pts, 4-5 FG vs. UNLV |
| G |
35 |
Samson Oladimeji |
6-4 |
200 |
Jr. |
0.5 |
0.3 |
0.0 |
Third-year walkon |
Career Record: 127-52/.709 (6th year)
At Illinois: 18-25/.419 (2nd year)
Series Notes vs. Missouri
All-Time Series Record: Illinois leads 32-16
Record at St. Louis: Illinois leads 25-12
Last Year's Meeting: Illinois 70, Missouri 64 | Dec. 23, 2017 at St. Louis | Box Score
Series Streak: Illinois W-5
Underwood vs. Missouri: 1-0
» Braggin' Rights Game-by-Game | Great Braggin' Rights Moments
Braggin' Rights Breakdown
Series Record: Illinois leads 25-12
Current Streak: Illinois W-5
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 8-3
In overtime games: Tied 2-2
At Enterprise Center: Illinois leads 16-8
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, five times (1992, 1993, 2003, 2007 and 2013)
Braggin' Rights Notes
• Following a one-week break in the game schedule for fall semester final exams, Illinois returns to action Saturday night in the 38th edition of Braggin' Rights (7 p.m., BTN). Limited tickets remain and are available online at TicketMaster.com or in person at the Enterprise Center ticket office.
• The Fighting Illini own a 25-12 advantage over Missouri in the annual neutral-site rivalry game. 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 (2009-12), and the Illini now enter this year's contest at Enterprise Center on a five-year winning streak (2013-).
• Featuring eight scholarship newcomers this season, Illinois has just four players on its roster with Braggin' Rights experience, and only one – senior Aaron Jordan – who has played in more than one game. Trent Frazier had 22 points in last year's victory, becoming the first true freshman to lead the Illini in scoring in a Braggin' Rights game since Dee Brown in 2002.
• When the Braggin' Rights series began, Lou Henson was in charge of the Fighting Illini. Last year, Brad Underwood became the fourth of the last five Illinois head coaches since to win his inaugural Braggin' Rights game, following Lon Kruger in 1996, Bill Self in 2000, and Bruce Weber in 2003.
Opening Tips
• Illinois has won consecutive games for the first time since Jan. 24 & Jan. 30 of last season (home wins over Indiana and Rutgers).
• Illinois is looking for its first winning streak longer than two games since opening the 2017-18 season with six straight victories.
• The Missouri game marks the second of four straight Saturday games for the Illini to close out 2018.
• After playing seven games in 17 days in five different locations from Nov. 19-Dec. 5, the Illini schedule pace has slowed down. Illinois is in the midst of playing just four games over a 28-day stretch prior to Big Ten play resuming on Jan. 3.
• The Missouri game marks Illinois' seventh game away from State Farm Center. The Illini opened the season with six of its first nine games outside of Champaign, which included two stretches of three-straight games away from home.
• Illinois has had just five home games to date and plays its first four Big Ten games away from State Farm Center.
• Illinois has played the 18th-toughest schedule in the nation by kenpom rankings, and the fourth-toughest among teams from the six major conferences.
• Illinois' five starters are all averaging between 9.7 and 15.4 points per game on the season. Every player in the rotation has shown the ability to lead the scoring attack, and that has been the case in recent weeks as a different Illini led the team in scoring over a six-game stretch from Nov. 21-Dec. 8.
• Illinois' defense is allowing 70.7 points (424) on 42 percent shooting (133-317) over the last six games, compared to 84.8 points (339) on 53.9 percent shooting (118-219) the previous four games.
• Illinois has held six-straight opponents to less than 80 points and below 50 percent shooting. In the previous four games, all four opponents exceeded 80 points with three of the four shooting better than 50 percent.
Illini Player Trends
• Kipper Nichols is averaging 12.0 points (72) on 54.9 percent shooting (28-51) and 42.1 percent 3-point shooting (8-19) over the last six games, scoring in double figures five times, including each of the last four.
• Over the last four games, Nichols' scoring average increases to 14.0 ppg (56).
• Trent Frazier has made 10-of-17 from 3-point range over the last three games (58.8 percent), after going 0-for-8 from three the previous two games.
• Frazier scored a game-high 25 points the last time out vs. East Tennessee State, his first 20+ point performance in eight games (29 vs. Gonzaga, Nov. 19).
• Aaron Jordan has made a 3-pointer in nine straight games and 10 of 11 games on the season.
• Jordan is shooting 45.7 percent from 3-point range as an upperclassman (69-151) after shooting 33.3 percent from behind the arc his first two seasons (28-84).
• Jordan has grabbed 17 rebounds over the last two games and has tallied seven steals over the last three games.
• Ayo Dosunmu made 4-of-6 inside the arc against UNLV after going 3-of-21 from 2-point range his previous three games.
• Andres Feliz scored in double figures for the first time in eight games against UNLV, leading the Illini with a career- and game-high 19 points.
» Complete Illinois-Missouri Game Notes (PDF)
