3 key questions for the Illinois basketball team vs Missouri

The annual Braggin’ Rights game awaits the Illinois basketball team on Monday night.

Missouri is always a thorn in the side of the Illini, no matter who is playing in the game. This is a tightly contested rivalry, and the fact that we meet in St. Louis always brings more buzz to the matchup.

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While the Tigers are 10-2 this season, their best win is by far against a 7-5 Minnesota bunch. They also have a loss to a weak Notre Dame team and struggled against Alabama State a couple of weeks ago. With that being said, Illinois can’t overlook Missouri. There are a few key questions I will need answered throughout the game.

Here are three key questions for the Illinois basketball team vs Missouri

1. Will Illinois be strong with perimeter defense?

I feel like, in the Brad Underwood era, Illinois lives and dies by the three-point arc. If we are hitting, then we usually win the game. If the other team is hitting from deep, then they are going to knock us off.

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In the Nebraska game, the Cornhuskers shot 46% and had Pryce Sandfort knock down 6-of-11 from beyond the three-point arc. Missouri could end up doing the same thing if Illinois gets lazy on their perimeter defense.

The Tigers aren’t a high-volume three-point shooting team, taking just 21.4 three-pointers per game, which ranks No. 245 out of 365 teams in DI basketball. But they are an efficient bunch from deep, knocking down 37.4% of their attempts, which ranks No. 43 in the country.

This won’t be an easy task for Illinois on Monday night. Jacob Crews leads Missouri in three-point attempts with 70 this season, and he is hitting them at a clip of 52.9%. At 6-foot-8, that is going to be extremely tough to stop. I would imagine you will see a rotation of players on him to see who works best on defense.

Underwood’s game plan against Missouri is going to be crucial. Let’s see if we can close out strong and not let Missouri get hot from deep.

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2. Does Tomislav Ivisic show up in St. Louis?

One of the…

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Publish date : 2025-12-22 10:35:00

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