I watched 70% of the Mizzou game last night against Liberty. I missed the big comeback in the 2nd half and that must have been when Mark Smith did all his scoring. For the most part, this game features all the same players from last year --- with the exception of our (new) Freshmen. I saw a stat that Missouri returns ~90% of their scoring, rebounding and assists from 19-20. Tilmon looked surprisingly weak on the offensive end of the court, and I think he got off to a 2-9 start from the FT stripe this season.
They were also picked to finish 9th/10th in the SEC. As such, I need to go with my gut. Illini will win. However, I feel like it's going to be a blue-collar battle and an ugly contest:
ILL 68
MIZ 62