Illinois 88, Missouri 63 Postgame

[WhiteHorseWings]

VCR? You from Missouri?

Dude. He didn’t say Betamax

 

[CV Illini]

Dude. He didn’t say Betamax

Well played.

 

[altgeld88]

I just don't see why there is a need for another "rivalry" game. We have enough tough games in the B1G and a few huge nonconference games every year. The IL/MO game is a very intense game! Personally, I could care less about us playing KY or anyone like that in the non-conference. I don't like KY at all because of their arrogance but, I don't like MI either for the very same reason. But, MI is in our conference and we have been playing them for decades. Also, I grew up in Detroit, lol.

I completely agree with you on the rivalry game front. And as a Columbus native I feel your pain on the Detroit childhood front.

I had the pleasure of getting together here in DC with a fellow Board poster for Braggin' Rights the other evening. He and I were discussing the apparently limitless arrogance and entitlement mentality that characterizes the Michigan and Ohio State fan bases. IMO, Michigan is the worse one of the two, which I realize is bold talk.

 

[number1IlliniFan]

Biggest bummer for me was Plummer missing that FT. Darn.

 

[Vinegarben]

I hope payne finds some type of offense. He didn't look happy at the end of the game

I am so glad Kofi came back. I hope he decides just to complete his time and return for year4. Omar Payne hasn't shown any semblance of offense.

 

[Bucktown]

Finding another non con team to play every year at a neutral site that would generate the interest and attendance would be difficult.

You gonna play KY in Paducah every year? Would love to hear your suggestions.

Metropolis!

 

[Fighter of the Nightman]

Game Information​

United Center

1:15 PM CT December 29, 2012
Coverage: BTN
United Center

• Chicago, IL

Attendance: 18,136

87%
Capacity: 20,917

Okay, substitute what I incorrectly remembered for 18k+. 3k+ more than our home arena.

You seemed to be making the point we had trouble drawing big crowds in Chicago, and I disputed that. I stand by my argument, and I think there’s clear historical evidence for it. We only drew bad crowds when we were at a hopelessly low point in our program’s history, and before that we drew large crowds.

As far as I can tell, you attempted to correct me with a “gotcha” post for why we shouldn’t play in Chicago anymore because, what? We only filled 87% of an NBA arena in a massive market where we have over 200k alumni and over 65% of our state? No Illini fan should oppose establishing ourselves in our most important market, regardless of where you live or your season ticket status or what baseball team you cheer for or whatever other reason one might have to be biased against a game at the UC. It was VERY clearly a success for 95% of the years it was played, and abandoning it would be short sighted, IMO. We are the (state) University of ILLINOIS - not the University of Champaign. Playing one game per year in our state’s most populous metro and where the largest concentration of alumni are really shouldn’t be some hard sell. We marketed it as our “home away from home.” It still should be.

 

[BretMyBeachHouse]

Okay, substitute what I incorrectly remembered for 18k+. 3k+ more than our home arena.

You seemed to be making the point we had trouble drawing big crowds in Chicago, and I disputed that. I stand by my argument, and I think there’s clear historical evidence for it. We only drew bad crowds when we were at a hopelessly low point in our program’s history, and before that we drew large crowds.

As far as I can tell, you attempted to correct me with a “gotcha” post for why we shouldn’t play in Chicago anymore because, what? We only filled 87% of an NBA arena in a massive market where we have over 200k alumni and over 65% of our state? No Illini fan should oppose establishing ourselves in our most important market, regardless of where you live or your season ticket status or what baseball team you cheer for or whatever other reason one might have to be biased against a game at the UC. It was VERY clearly a success for 95% of the years it was played, and abandoning it would be short sighted, IMO. We are the (state) University of ILLINOIS - not the University of Champaign. Playing one game per year in our state’s most populous metro and where the largest concentration of alumni are really shouldn’t be some hard sell. We marketed it as our “home away from home.” It still should be.

I absolutely want to have a game every single year at the United Center. So how about you first stop putting words in my mouth. Second stop minimizing attendance issues. I'm not going to figure out what you've said before but people should stop minimizing the scheduling issues. It's flat out difficult to do. You just don't magically desire to get a top school here and then it happens.

And by the way a mid level SEC school doesn't much float my boat anyway.

I hope we can get it done with a worthy team.

 

[Illini B-Ball Fan]

Biggest bummer for me was Plummer missing that FT. Darn.

Long season left ahead - he can start another run all over again, just hope he goes to the line a lot.

 

[oldman]

Biggest bummer for me was Plummer missing that FT. Darn.

Sitting next to my son I observed Plummer had not missed a free throw this season. Of course he then missed. Four people in front of me immediately turned and, with justification, gave me a ton of grief. I apologized then and I apologize now.

 

[illiniguy]

Don’t ever delete from vcr just like last year’s Michigan game. Enjoy over and over!

Mine broke in 1992 and the vcr repair shop couldn't fix it, but maybe it's on the interweb?

 

[Preacherbubba]

Where can I see a replay of the game?

My house!!

 

[alaaji]

Sitting next to my son I observed Plummer had not missed a free throw this season. Of course he then missed. Four people in front of me immediately turned and, with justification, gave me a ton of grief. I apologized then and I apologize now.

It’s funny the amount of power that we give to our words. You and I both know that he didn’t miss because you said something.

 

[illiniguy]

It’s funny the amount of power that we give to our words. You and I both know that he didn’t miss because you said something.

Yeah, it was probably just a random butterfly flapping its wings somewhere.

 

[pruman91]

Martin reacts after loss in Braggin' Rights game

Mizzou basketball coach Cuonzo Martin gives a press conference after the loss to Illinois in the Braggin' Rights game on Wednesday, Dec. 22. Video courtesy of Mizzou Athletics

www.stltoday.com

I am SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO glad this brooding inept coach didn't come to the Illini family

Ten Hochman: Just how shockingly bad is Mizzou at 3-point shooting?

In today’s 10 a.m. video, columnist Ben Hochman talks Tigers after the Braggin’ Rights loss last night in St. Louis. And, as always, Hochman picks a random St. Louis Cards

www.stltoday.com

This dude is bonkers .........I like him and his prose on misery 3 point shooting is excellent...........And he brings up clownzo's future ..............lol

 

[illiniguy24]

That's a good suggestion. I'm from Central Ohio. The problem is that Kentucky (as a basketball program and a state) just doesn't occur at all to most Ohioans, except for Appalachian emigres, though perhaps I'm wrong about Cincinnati natives. It just never comes up in the basketball conversation there in my experience. Indiana and Michigan have always been the big hoops rivalries for OSU (when its program wasn't in the tank).

In addition, even when basketball is going well in Columbus, the following is lukewarm. It's a football town, they don't fill the Schott regularly even when the team is strong, and the fan base is fickle. There's been an ongoing discussion the past decade about whether they should have ever left the 13k-seat St. John Arena (which, like Mackey, has a huge aluminum roof that reflects sound and makes it a tough place for opponents to play) in the late '90s for the 19k-seat Schott.

My friends who remain there still talk about football through the off-season, with only offhand attention to basketball. The only time I hear about OSU hoops enthusiastically from them is when they manage to beat a stellar Illinois team. Even when Matta had his run there, and went to the FF, the energy wasn't anywhere near what that produces in Bloomington, East Lansing or Champaign. They've got a great basketball tradition (three straight NC title games in the early '60s with one NC in that run, and seven BT titles in 12 seasons through '71) but football always overshadows it.

As a new Cincinnati resident I can tell you that UK basketball is very much a thing around here, more so than the Cincinnati basketball program. But, the UC football program has taken all the spotlight while I’ve been here.

 

[illiniguy24]

Well, actually I already did. But I also stated that I don't have a good answer to that as well. I suggested Kentucky playing somewhere like Louisville (although I think Louisville fans would not like that very much). And BretMyBeachHouse above had several good suggestions. It just seems as if people cannot fathom the idea of discontinuing this series like it has been written in stone since Moses. It hasn't. Someone in 1976 (or 75?) decided to schedule a game between Illinois and Missouri and it became a great game at least during the 80s and 90s when both teams were consistently good, made the NCAA tournament regularly so there was more to the game than just playing each other. A Missouri writer, Sam Snelling said in a recent post (SB Nation),

"Officially the “Braggin’ Rights” part of this game came around in the early 80s, with the two programs at a crescendo of success. Illinois and Missouri were two of the more consistently good programs from 1980 to the late 1990s. Illinois missed the NCAA tournament just four times from 1980 to 2000. While Missouri missed the tournament just five times in that same span.

But since the 2000-01 season, Missouri has just 7 wins in the series, and three of those were over the previous three years. The previous four games came when Mike Anderson was revving up at the same time Bruce Weber had lost Bill Self’s recruits, and eventually turned the program over the John Groce.

I’m not sure the point of this intro really. I think I’m just avoiding talking about the game. But while the last three wins were nice, Illinois’ upswings in more recent seasons have been more up than Missouri’s, so while Illinois is on a bit of a high point... the Tigers are most definitely not."

Seems even Missouri fans realize that there is a discrepancy between Illinois and Missouri. I don't think Snelling wants to discontinue the series because I suspect it would hurt Missouri more than Illinois.

So, again, I seem to have to repeat myself. If we started playing a better team, say Kentucky just as an example, I think that if Illinois is not blown out every year but rather makes the games close and maybe even wins once in a while that will put the Illinois program on a higher level. It would definitely be a national game every year and people and recruits will see that Illinois has "arrived". But, only if the Illini win sometimes which I think thry can do. And after 10 or 20 years of that series no one will even remember that we used to play Missouri. Well, that last part is probably a little hyperbolic. I am sure people will remember but will they really care to resume the series after playing someone like Kentucky year after year?

Having said that, I think this topic has pretty much run its course. I mean, feel free to respond but I think I have exhausted my points which basically are just saying that I think we could do better than Missouri and that I think it would be beneficial overall and over time for the Illini to do so. But it is just my opinion. And I guess I just can't understand why people are so locked into having Missouri as Illinois' great rival. All things must pass. I just think it is something to consider.

Also, I would like to thank everyone for treating my suggestions/questions with respect and civility. I imagine that given what I have written someone or more than just one could have jumped down my throat and made all sorts of unkind comments. But everyone has been polite and courteous and have offered interesting well thought out responses to my post. Thank you.

I somewhat agree with you, if Illinois is back to being a top 25 program on a yearly basis we need Missouri to get back to doing the same or the rivalry game will forever lose its luster.

That being said, I’m not a huge fan of adding more neutral court games, unless it’s with a big time blue blood program. I wish teams would do more home and home series. How awesome is it when UGA goes to Notre Dame in football and visa versa?

Can you imagine Illinois and Kansas doing a constantly rotating home and home every year? Now that would be awesome! I want to see Illinois win at those places, and see the State Farm arena come alive like it was for the Arizona game for more non conference opponents.

 

[Ga65]

Martin reacts after loss in Braggin' Rights game

Mizzou basketball coach Cuonzo Martin gives a press conference after the loss to Illinois in the Braggin' Rights game on Wednesday, Dec. 22. Video courtesy of Mizzou Athletics

www.stltoday.com

I am SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO glad this brooding inept coach didn't come to the Illini family

Ten Hochman: Just how shockingly bad is Mizzou at 3-point shooting?

In today’s 10 a.m. video, columnist Ben Hochman talks Tigers after the Braggin’ Rights loss last night in St. Louis. And, as always, Hochman picks a random St. Louis Cards

www.stltoday.com

This dude is bonkers .........I like him and his prose on misery 3 point shooting is excellent...........And he brings up clownzo's future ..............lol

He likes where they’re going! Me too!

 

[destindog]

And he was an absolute punk about it, too. He had his chance to be at Illinois, but Marky Mark told him they yell and make you run there.

Picket decomitted before Smith got there. I don't think Underwood even tried to change his mind. He redshirted his first year at Mizou

 

[1970 John]

It’s funny the amount of power that we give to our words. You and I both know that he didn’t miss because you said something.

Don’t underestimate the power of a jinx.

 

[Oldskoolkoach]

I rewatched the game this morning as a gift to myself. It was glorious, AGAIN!

 

[IlliniKat91]

As a new Cincinnati resident I can tell you that UK basketball is very much a thing around here, more so than the Cincinnati basketball program. But, the UC football program has taken all the spotlight while I’ve been here.

My in laws have been in Cincinnati for years. Can confirm this is the case.

 

[CHI 1086]

Anyone know where to watch this game as a replay. My DVR recorded one of the games Malcolm played in, and while it's highly entertaining, I want to see how the guys played for myself. Also, does anyone know the dates of next season's tournament in Vegas? I want to start planning. Thanks.

 

[alaskaillini]

Love Illinois Loyalty. We lose 3 out of last 4 Braggin Rights games and yet the series is not competitive enough to be a rivalry.

 

[Arrow 7]

I guess we left the setting the record point margin for next year