Braggin' Rights Postgame Notes
12/22/2010 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Dec. 22, 2010
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Busch Braggin' Rights Game
Mizzou vs. Illinois - Dec. 22, 2010
St. Louis, Mo. - Scottrade Center
Postgame Notes
- The win over the Illini marks the Tigers' second straight in the annual holiday showdown. Illinois had won the previous nine matchups with the Tigers, but Mizzou has now won two straight, doing so by a combined 24 points.
- The win for the Tigers was their first in the Braggin' Rights series when both teams were ranked. Mizzou had previously lost the last six meetings when both teams were ranked.
- Mizzou continues its fast start as the 11-1 overall mark is the best start to a season by a Tiger team under head coach Mike Anderson. Mizzou is 11-1 for the first time since 1991-92.
- The win is also the Tigers'65th over the last two plus seasons, tying them for sixth in the nation in that span with Michigan State (who lost to Texas tonight) and Memphis (idle).
- Mizzou's bench was key in the win as it outscored the Illini's bench, 23-12, including a 15-4 mark in the second half alone. Mizzou assisted on 10 of the 16 made field goals in the second and committed just five turnovers in the second half, giving them a 2.00 assist-to-turnover margin in the second. In fact, Mizzou finished with 18 assists on 26 made field goals (69-percent).
- Kim English dished five dimes in the win, giving him 15 assists in his last two games combined. Before that span, his previous career-best had been five assists in a game as he is now averaging above that mark over his last two games.
- Five Tigers finished the game with double-digit scoring totals, highlighted by Marcus Denmon's 15 (12 of which came in the second half).
- The win was a game of runs, with Mizzou's final run coming at the right time at the end of the game. In fact, the contest featured eight ties and nine lead changes before the Tigers pulled away in the final 1:25 of the game, going on a 17-6 run. Mizzou outscored the Illini 21-7 over the final 3:29.
- One of the key factors in the win was the Tigers' ability to get to the charity stripe as they shot 26 free throws, connecting on 19 of them (73.1-percent). Mizzou made more free throws than Illinois attempted as the Illini went 5-12 from the line. Marcus Denmon, Michael Dixon and Matt Pressey were a combined 13-14 from the line. Mizzou was also 14-17 from the stripe in the second half.
First Half Notes:
- Matt Pressey started his third game this season on Wednesday evening. It was his first start in the last seven games. He had not started since the Tigers' game against Arkansas-Pine Bluff on Nov. 28.
- The Tiger defense, most notably around the rim, was dominant in the beginning of the game as it limited the Illini to just 2-12 shooting at the first media timeout (15:21). Mizzou was 2-7 shooting in that span.
- Neither team shot particularly well in the first half as Mizzou finished the half shooting 10-29 (34.5-percent) while limiting Illinois to 12-39 shooting (30.8-percent). The two teams combined to shoot 4-17 (23-percent) from 3-point range in the half as well.
- Laurence Bowers tallied a block at the 18:31 point of the first half, giving him at least one block in eight straight games. The last time Bowers did not have a block in a game was against LaSalle on Nov. 24. Bowers finished the game with a game-high three blocks.
- Mizzou finished the half on a 7-0 run as it drew the score even at 27 apiece. The run was over the last 3:02 of the first half. Despite the rally, the 27 points in the first half were a season-low first half total for the Tigers. Their previous low was 34, scored in the season-opener against Western Illinois.
- The key stat in the first half was the Illinois rebounds as it pulled in 30 to Mizzou's 20 in the first half. 14 of those boards came on the offensive glass, leading to 10 second-chance points. However, Mizzou did outscore Illinois in the paint in the first, 14-12.
- Seven Tigers scored in the first half, led by seven from Bowers. He, along with Ricardo Ratliffe and Kim English, combined to shoot 7-15 in the first while the rest of the team shot just 3-14 in the half.
Second Half Notes:
- Mizzou extended its scoring run to 15-2 by the 18:24 mark of the first half, running out to a six-point lead at 35-29. But Illinois countered with a 12-2 run of its own to regain the lead at 41-37.
- Following its scoring run, Mizzou went 6:15 without a field goal until a put-back jumper from Matt Pressey at the 12:18 mark. That tied the game at 41. The bucket was Pressey's first field goal of the night.
- Justin Safford, who went to basketball camps at the Illinois as a kid, scored nine straight points from the 11:48 mark until the 8:24 mark, helping Mizzou keep pace with the Illini. Ratliffe scored the next four Tiger points to give Mizzou the lead at 54-52.
- Michael Dixon did not score his first field goal of the game until the 1:25 mark on the second half, but it was a big one, giving Mizzou a 60-58 lead. In fact it was part of an 8-2 Tiger run until a 3-pointer from Illinois' Mike Davis.
- But Mizzou countered on a four-point play by Laurence Bowers that was part of a six-point possession to take a 68-61 lead. In fact, Mizzou closed the game on a 17-6 run in the final 1:25.
- After shooting just 1-of-6 (three points) in the first half, Marcus Denmon finished the game with a team-high 15 points 4-11 shooting. The key for Denmon was that he finished a perfect 6-of-6 from the free throw line.
- Mizzou shot 16-of-30 from the floor in the second half as it completed the comeback, scoring 48 points in the second frame, while limiting Illinois to just 37.
- Mizzou shot just four 3-pointers in the second half and connected on two of them. The four 3-point attempts matches the Tigers' season-low in a half this season. The last was four against Oral Roberts in the second half.
