Three Illinois guards (Grandison, Frazier and Plummer) made three threes a piece, and none of those three attempted more than seven. Attempting to fight fire with fire was not an option for Mizzou. The Tigers entered the game shooting below 25 percent from deep and made only six of their 23 attempts.
“Our identity is defending, rebounding and playing hard,” Martin said. “Your offense comes and goes. If you defend, rebound and play as hard as you can play, you give yourself a chance to win games. But you want to see 3-point shots go. It’s very important. It probably would have been a different game if some of those shots go. If they don’t, it continues to put so much pressure on your defense.”
Also unsolvable for Mizzou was Cockburn. Brown, who was smaller, could not contain him. The bigger Jordan Wilmore, freed from the bench, could not keep up with him. Brazile swatted some of his shots but not nearly enough. Cockburn made nine of his 15 field-goal attempts and spearheaded his team’s 39-27 rebounding advantage.
An announced attendance of 14,953 marked the smallest for a normal, full-capacity-allowed Braggin’ Rights since 12,409 was announced in 2016. Last year’s game was played at Mizzou Arena in front of a crowd severely restricted by pandemic protocols. Crowd limitations were more self-imposed this time around, and things thinned out greatly on the Mizzou side late.
