Illinois Fighting Illini at Missouri Tigers Betting Preview
22 December 2022
The annual “Braggin’ Rights” Game between the Illinois Fighting Illini and the Missouri Tigers is set for Thursday night. These two college basketball programs don’t like each other, and the fans are always amped up for this game as well.
Illinois comes into this game with an overall record of 8-3, but the Fighting Illini are 0-2 so far in Big Ten Conference play. This team is ranked in the Top 25, and they do have a couple of signature wins on the year.
Missouri comes into this game with a record of 10-1, but the lone loss was a blowout loss to the Kansas Jayhawks. This team hasn’t faced a very difficult schedule, and that could create some issues against a tough Illinois team.
The Illinois Fighting Illini are 6.5-point betting favorites over the Missouri Tigers on Thursday night.
Illinois Wants to Defend
The Illinois Fighting Illini want to prove that the Big Ten Conference is tougher than the SEC, and they will try to win this game on defense. Illinois is holding opponents to just 62 points per game this season, and they have the size to be even better than that.
The offense for Illinois has been a bit of a problem of late, but this team is still scoring over 78 points per game. Illinois has the ability to score both inside and out, but they don’t always make their shots from deep.
Terrence Shannon Jr. leads the team with 17.8 points per game, and this will be his first game in this great rivalry.
Tigers Playing Fast
The offensive numbers for Missouri this season are impressive to look at, as this team is scoring nearly 89 points per game. Missouri did take advantage of some weaker opponents along the way, but they still have guys that know how to score.
Guard D’Moi Hodge leads the team with 16.4 points per game, and he is shooting better than 51 percent from the floor. Missouri has a ton of guards that love to shoot, and they will try to attack Illinois on the perimeter.
The defense for Missouri has been a disaster at times, and they allowed Kansas to score 95 points against them on their home floor.
Illinois Crushes Missouri
Most games in this rivalry have come down to the final few minutes, and there have also been some terrific buzzer-beating shots. You shouldn’t expect this game to end the same way, though, as Missouri just doesn’t have the talent to keep up for 40 minutes.
Illinois has a big advantage in size in this game, and they also have a ton of veteran guards that will take this game over. The Tigers will rise to the occasion and keep this a game in the first half, but this game will turn into a blowout in the second half.
Bet the Illinois Fighting Illini -6.5 as they pick up a double-digit win over their biggest rival.
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All Media on this page by Associated Press.
