The Mizzou men’s basketball team celebrates winning the Braggin’ Rights game over Illinois last season. (Photo courtesy: Mizzou Athletics)

Mizzou Basketball – Gameday Info
Game No. 12 – Missouri (7-4) vs. #13 Illinois (8-2)
Date/Time – December 22, 2023 – 8 pm
Location – Enterprise Center — St. Louis, MO
Broadcast – FS1
Live Stats – Mizzou StatBroadcast

Cedric Williams
Senior Editor

ST. LOUIS, MO — One of the grand events of the local sports year will go down Friday night, when the University of Missouri men’s basketball team takes on longtime rival Illinois in the annual Braggin’ Rights Game at Enterprise Center.

The Tigers have won four of the last five meetings with the Illini, including last year, when Missouri walloped Illinois, 93-71.

All time though, Illinois leads the series 33-20 and owns a 25-16 record for games played in St. Louis. And this year, the 8-2 Illini, who are ranked No. 13 in this week’s Associated Press Top 25 poll, are favored to win to again.

Missouri needs this win badly. The Tigers are coming off a pair of tough losses against No. 2 Kansas and unranked Seton Hall. Mizzou is 7-4 on the year and needs to add more wins to its total as it gets near the calendar year, before heading into Southeastern Conference play in January.

Players to Watch: Mizzou’ Big Three of graduate student seniors will have to play a big role if the Tigers are to pull out the win.

Point guard Sean East leads the Tigers in scoring with a 17.1 ppg average. He also leads the team with 43 assists and ranks as one of the top three-point shooters in the entire country, with a 60.7 percent average.

Fellow guard Nick Honor is second on the team with a 12.5 ppg average, while forward Noah Carter is third at 11.7 ppg. He also leads the team in rebounding at 6.5 per game.

Missouri is scoring 75.5 points per game, while allowing 70.1 points on defense. The Illini own a scoring offense of 79.4 points with a scoring defense of 64.2.

Their top scorer is Terrence Shannon Jr. He averages 20.9 ppg. Marcus Domask is second on the team with 11.8 points, while Quincy Guerrier is third with 8.7 points and first with 6.7 rebounds.

Up Next: Missouri will have one game left in 2023. They’ll play Central Arkansas in a home game at Mizzou Arena on December 30.

SEC league play will begin for the Tigers in January with a game against Georgia on January 6.

2023-24 Mizzou Tigers Men’s Basketball Schedule

DateTimeAtOpponentLocationTV
December 22, 2023 (Friday)8 p.m.Enterprise Center#13 IllinoisSt. Louis, Mo.
December 30, 2023 (Saturday)2 p.m.HomeCentral ArkansasMizzou Arena
January 6, 2024 (Saturday)NoonHomeGeorgiaMizzou Arena
January 9, 2024 (Tuesday)6 p.m.Away#9 KentuckyLexington, Ky.
January 13, 2024 (Saturday)2:30 p.m.HomeSouth CarolinaMizzou Arena
January 16, 2024 (Tuesday)6 p.m.AwayAlabamaTuscaloosa, Ala.
January 20, 2024 (Saturday)TBAHomeFloridaMizzou ArenaESPN or ESPN2
January 23, 2024 (Tuesday)8 p.m.AwayTexas A&MCollege Station, Texas
January 27, 2024 (Saturday)Noon CTAwaySouth CarolinaColumbia, S.C.
January 31, 2024 (Wednesday)7:30 p.m.HomeArkansasMizzou Arena
February 3, 2024 (Saturday)2:30 p.m.AwayVanderbiltNashville, Tenn.
February 7, 2024 (Wednesday)8 p.m.HomeTexas A&MMizzou Arena
February 10, 2024 (Saturday)7:30 p.m.HomeMississippi StateMizzou Arena
February 17, 2024 (Saturday)7:30 p.m.AwayOle MissOxford, Miss.
February 20, 2024 (Tuesday)6 p.m.Home#8 TennesseeMizzou Arena
February 24, 2024 (Saturday)11 a.m.AwayArkansasFayetteville, Ark.ESPN or ESPN2
February 28, 2024 (Wednesday)5:30 p.m. CTAwayFloridaGainesville, Fla.
March 2, 2024 (Saturday)7:30 p.m.HomeOle MissMizzou Arena
March 5, 2024 (Tuesday)8 p.m.HomeAuburnMizzou Arena
March 9, 2024 (Saturday)7:30 p.m.AwayLSUBaton Rouge, La.
March 13-17, 2024 (Wednesday)TBABridgestone ArenaSEC TournamentNashville, Tenn.