University of Missouri
Illinois
Men's Basketball Faces No. 18 Illinois for McBride Homes Braggin' Rights
12/21/2025 10:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
| Missouri (10-2, 0-0 SEC) vs. Illinois (8-3, 0-0 Big Ten) | |
| Game Details | Monday, Dec. 22 • 7 p.m. • St. Louis, Mo. • Enterprise Center |
| Television | FS1 |
| Radio | Tiger Radio Network | Sirius XM: 390 | Sirius XM App: 980 |
| Game Notes | Missouri | Illinois |
| Game Coverage | Live Stats | Twitter: @MizzouHoops | Instagram: @MizzouHoops |
The Mizzou men's basketball team plays its final game of 2025 on Monday night, squaring off with rival Illinois for McBride Homes Braggin' Rights. Tipoff is set for 7 p.m. in St. Louis on FS1.
ABOUT THE TIGERS
• Missouri enters Braggin' Rights with a 10-2 mark.
• The Tigers have won their last two games with victories over Alabama State and Bethune-Cookman last week.
• Senior Mark Mitchell leads the Tigers with 18.2 points and 6.1 rebounds, while ranking second with 3.0 assists per game.
• Jacob Crews (14.8) and Anthony Robinson II (10.8) are also scoring in double figures.
• Robinson also leads Mizzou with 3.7 assists, while Shawn Phillips Jr. has a team-best 1.7 blocks.
• The Tigers are averaging 86.8 points per game in 2025-26, while allowing 69.8.
ABOUT THE FIGHTING ILLINI
• Illinois owns an 8-3 overall record and is ranked No. 18 in both polls.
• The Illini are led by Kylan Boswell, who has a team-best 16.1 points and 3.6 assists per game.
• Overall, four Illinois players are scoring in double figures this season with Andrej Stojakovic (15.5) and Keaton Wagler (15.1) also scoring 15-plus.
• The Illini are averaging 87.8 points in 11 games this season, while allowing 71.5.
SERIES HISTORY
• The two rivals have met annually since 1983 with all but the 2020 meeting during the COVID season in St. Louis.
• Overall, the Illini own a 35-20 all-time edge in the series, including a 27-16 advantage in St. Louis.
• The Illini have won the last two meetings, taking an 80-77 thriller last season.
TIGERS VERSUS BIG TEN
• Missouri has played Big Ten schools 146 times during its history with 55 of the 146 games coming against Illinois.
• Overall, the Tigers own a 59-87 all-time record versus the conference.
• Earlier this season, Mizzou claimed its biggest win versus a Big Ten foe in 146 attempts – defeating Minnesota by 23, 83-60, on Nov. 12.
• In three-plus seasons with Dennis Gates as head coach, MU is 3-2 versus the Big Ten.
MR. VERSATILE, MARK MITCHELL
• Mark Mitchell has led the charge for Mizzou and has started the season on an elite level.
• Mitchell is averaging a team-best 18.2 points and 6.2 boards, while ranking second with 3.0 assists.
• In fact, he is one of just six in the nation averaging 18 points, six rebounds and three assists.
• In Mizzou's most recent game, Mitchell became the first Tiger to collect 19 points, seven rebounds, four steals and three assists since D'Moi Hodge did so on Nov. 15, 2022.
TOP SCORER
• While Mark Mitchell can do it all, he's still best known for his scoring ability.
• Mitchell leads Missouri with 18.2 points, ranking fifth in the SEC and 79th in the nation.
• In addition, Mitchell's 18.2 average is the highest by a Tiger through the season's first 12 games since Jordan Clarkson (20.0) in 2013-14.
TOP RANKS FOR MITCHELL
• With his strong early start, Mark Mitchell ranks among the nation's best in multiple stats.
• Efficiency is the key in Mitchell's game as he ranks 41st nationally with a field-goal clip of 59.8.
• Mitchell is also one of the nation's best at getting to the free-throw line – ranking 13th in attempts (91) and 33rd in makes (63).
ROBINSON FINDING HIS RHYTHM
• Junior Anthony Robinson II is starting to find his offensive rhythm as of late.
• In the last two games, Robinson is averaging 17.0 points and 6.0 assists – shooting 65.0 percent.
• Overall, Robinson is scoring 10.8 points this year and leads Mizzou with 3.7 assists. He has recorded at least five assists in five contests, including each of the last three.
ROBINSON ANCHORS DEFENSE
• Anthony Robinson II entered the season as the frontrunner for the league's Defensive Player of the Year accolade and has not disappointed.
• Robinson currently ranks fourth in the SEC and 48th nationally with 2.17 steals per game.
• In last Sunday's win, he also added a career-best three blocks – the first Tiger in the last 20 years with seven assists and three blocks in the same game.
THE CREWS MISSILE
• Graduate student Jacob Crews has been one of the top shooters nationally this season.
• Crews leads the Tigers with 37 made 3-pointers and a clip of 52.9 percent from beyond the arc.
• He currently ranks fifth in the nation in 3-point percentage and 42nd with 3.08 triples per game.
• Crews has made at least three triples in eight of the last nine games – shooting 32-of-60 during the stretch (53.3 percent).
20-POINT THREATS
• Jacob Crews has made it a habit to reach the 20-point mark as of late.
• Crews has tallied at least 20 points in four of the last five contests. In his first 40 career games at Mizzou, he reached 20 points only once.
• Mark Mitchell has also scored 20-plus points in five games with one of the two reaching the mark in 9-of-12 contests this season.
