Illinois Fighting Illini vs Missouri Tigers Match Player Stats On Dec 12, 2020

Dru Smith scored 18 points and Xavier Pinson was right behind with 17 points as the host Missouri Tigers upset the No. 6 Illinois Fighting Illini 81-78 Saturday night.

Ayo Dosunmu scored a career-high 36 points for the Illini (4-2). Kofi Cockburn scored 19 points and Andre Curbelo scored 14.

Javon Pickett added 14 points for the Tigers (5-0), who won their third straight game against the Illini in the Braggin' Rights series.

Missouri outrebounded Illinois 35-26 and made 26 of 31 free throws.

Due to the pandemic, this game was played outside of St. Louis for the first time since 1979. The Tigers won the virtual coin flip to decide which campus got the game, so it was played before a small gathering of family and friends in Mizzou Arena in Columbia.

The Tigers started fast with an early 9-2 run sparked by Pinson's 3-point jumper and Smith's steal and layup.

But Dosunmu made his first five shots and scored 13 early points to keep the Illini within range.

Illinois forward Giorgi Bezhanishvili picked up two quick fouls away from the ball at the offensive end, which limited his minutes in the first half.

But Missouri center Jeremiah Tilmon picked up his second foul with 12:19 left in the half, creating a serious matchup challenge for the Tigers. Seldom-used 7-foot-3 freshman Jordan Wilmore and Mitchell Smith, Kobe Brown and Parker Braun took turns trying to contain the 7-foot, 285-pound Cockburn.

After Cockburn's layup put the Illini ahead 28-27, the Tigers outscored Illinois 22-13 during the rest of the first half to take a 49-41 lead into the break.

The officiating crew called 26 fouls during the first half. The Tigers went 16-for-16 at the free throw line, while the Illini missed 8 of 17.

The Illini opened the second half with a quick 5-1 run, but Pinson's three-point play capped an 8-3 Missouri surge that gave the Tigers a 60-51 lead.

Dru Smith's 3-point jumper pushed that margin to 69-56 with 9:17 to play, but the Illini responded with a 6-0 run, with Dosunmu scoring on back-to-back possessions.

Dosunmu tied the game 76-76 by attacking the basket again, but the Illini were never able to gain the lead. Pinson's jumper gave the Tigers an 80-76 lead, and Dru Smith's made one of two free throws after Cockburn was called for a flagrant foul with 40 seconds left to ice the game.

--Field Level Media