Missouri Tigers vs Illinois Fighting Illini
Wednesday, 12/22/10, 9:00 PM EDT, TV: ESPN2
Opening Point Spread: Illinois -1.5
Current Betting Line: Illinois -1.5
Opening Total: 148.5
Current Total: 148.5
Missouri and Illinois renew their annual holiday clash on Wednesday at the Scottrade Center in downtown St. Louis. It will also be college basketball’s first game this season that matches up a pair of 10-win clubs. “You can throw all the records, all the stats, the white collar stats out the window,” said Tigers forward Kim English. “This is hard-nosed basketball and it’s going to be a grind.” The two teams will also be coming in as ranked foes for the first time since the 2002-03 season. Missouri is off to its best start to a season under Mike Anderson with a 10-1 record and the only loss coming against Georgetown in overtime. The team is 12-7 ATS when playing on a neutral court the past three years and is currently listed as an underdog on the college basketball lines page.
The Tigers program will have a big decision heading into this contest of possibly reinstating point guard Michael Dixon, who was suspended indefinitely last week for undisclosed violations of team rules. It’s especially important for tonight’s contest considering his replacement, freshman Phil Pressey, is out at least two weeks with a broken right ring finger. Dixon returned to practice Sunday and Anderson said Tuesday night that the guard could play against Illinois. Wednesday’s game is Missouri’s 114th appearance in St. Louis, posting a 54-59 all-time mark in the Gateway City and 9-20 versus Illinois.
Illinois carries a Top 25 ranking into the Braggin’ Rights contest for the first time in five years and has compiled a 13-3 record in such games. The Fighting Illini are also 9-3 when playing against ranked Missouri teams in this series. The team will look to bounce back after getting upset by Illinois-Chicago on the road Saturday and tumbling nine spots in the AP rankings. “Everyone has down games,” coach Bruce Weber said. “If you win it, no one realizes it. You have to win. We were in the Final Four last week.” The players took the loss hard and showed up early to practice on Sunday and prepped for Missouri’s all-court pressure. Illinois is 0-3 ATS on neutral floors this season.
The Fighting Illini have had great success in this series under the direction of Weber, winning six of seven meetings in the series, with the only loss coming last year. Illinois brings a dangerous offensive attack into tonight’s game, especially from the three-point area, as the squad is averaging 7.4 three-pointers per game. The team has already hit double figures in 3-pointers four times in 12 games this year, surpassing or equaling its effort for the entire year in each of the last five seasons. Illinois has scored at least 70 points in all but one game and is averaging 77.5 points per game on the year.
Bettors will be interested in knowing that the Fighting Illini are 11-5-1 ATS in their last 17 games versus Big 12 opponents, while the Tigers are 3-10 ATS overall.
