Mizzou falls to Illinois in Braggin’ Rights for second-straight season
ST. LOUIS, Mo. (KMIZ)
For the first time since the 2016-17 and 2017-18 campaigns, the Mizzou men's basketball team has lost two-straight Braggin' Rights match ups against Illinois.
On Sunday, an off shooting night for the Tigers led to MU's second loss of the season, 80-77 to the Fighting Illini. However, Mizzou almost managed to complete a second half comeback
You can watch the full postgame press conference with Mizzou men's basketball coach Dennis Gates, as well as guards Tony Perkins and Tamar Bates in the video player below.
Things looked pretty bleak for Coach Gates and company with about 6:30 left in the second half, as the Tigers trailed by the largest margin of the game, 67-57. However, with about five minutes to go, Mizzou erased that deficit with an 11-0 run to retake its first lead since 4:23 in the first half, courtesy of a Trent Pierce bucket to make it 68-67 in favor of MU.
The two rivals continued to trade punches in the final minutes, even playing in a tie game with less than one minute left, but the Fighting Illini managed to hold off Mizzou just enough for a win.
The Tigers had a shot to tie the game or take the lead with less than 30 seconds left, as forward Mark Mitchell pulled up for a potential game-winning three. However, his shot was off the mark and, from there, the Fighting Illini closed the door. Forward Jacob Crews lifted up one more, last ditch 3-point attempt as the buzzer sounded, but it was also off the mark.
Three Tigers got into double-digit scoring at the Enterprise Center. Mitchell and Perkins led the charge with 18 points apiece, while Bates was right behind them with 17 points of his own.
Gates' team was out-shot in Sunday's loss at the Enterprise Center, though. The Tigers went just 40 percent from the field and 23 percent from 3-point range. However, one of the most damaging stat lines came from the charity stripe. Illinois went a near-perfect 22-for-23 from the free throw line, while MU missed nine shots, going 28-for-37.
Mizzou was also out-rebounded in the loss, as the Fighting Illini grabbed 12 more rebounds, 42-30.
The loss snapped the Tigers' 10-game winning streak, that dated back to week one of the college basketball season.
Up next - Mizzou will return home to host Alabama State on Monday, Dec. 30. Tip off is scheduled for 6:30 p.m.
