Illinois Fighting Illini at Missouri Tigers
· NCAA Men's Basketball
Kasparas Jakucionis scores 21, lifts Illinois over Missouri in 80-77 thriller
Illinois held the lead for nearly 30 minutes of game time, but a late rally by Missouri took the game down to the wire. An 11-0 run, capped by Trent Pierce’s layup gave the Tigers a 68-67 lead with about 4 minutes to go.
Jakucionis hit a straight-on 3-pointer for a 75-72 Illinois lead with 2 minutes remaining, but Missouri's Tamar Bates hit a wide-open 3 in transition to tie it at 75 with 1:14 to go.
After the teams exchanged free throws, Jakucionis, a freshman who has six consecutive 20-point games, drove the right side of the line, stopped, pivoted and hit a turnaround jumper to put Illinois ahead 79-77 with 28 seconds left.
After a miss by Missouri, Kylan Boswell made one of two free throws for a three-point lead. Jacob Crews missed a 3-pointer that could have tied it for Missouri.
Boswell made 11 of 12 free throws and Jakucionis went 8 for 8 for Illinois, which was 22 of 23 from the line. Missouri made 28 free throws but shot only 76% from the line. There 43 total fouls in the game.
Boswell had 16 points, nine rebounds and five assists for Illinois (8-3). Tre White scored 13 and Tomislav Ivisic had 11 points and 10 rebounds.
Mark Mitchell and Tony Perkins scored 18 points each and Bates had 17 for Missouri (10-2), which saw its 10-game winning streak come to an end.
Illinois hosts Chicago State on Dec. 29 and Missouri hosts Alabama State on Dec. 30.
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Recent Plays
| 2nd 0:00 | End of Game | 80 - 77 |
| 2nd 0:00 | End of 2nd half | 80 - 77 |
| 2nd 0:00 | Missouri Offensive Rebound. | 80 - 77 |
| 2nd 0:00 | Jacob Crews missed Three Point Jumper. | 80 - 77 |
| 2nd 0:05 | Trent Pierce Defensive Rebound. | 80 - 77 |
Statistics
 ILL |
 MIZ |
|
|---|---|---|
| 25-57 | FG | 23-58 |
| 44 | Field Goal % | 40 |
| 8-26 | 3PT | 3-13 |
| 31 | Three Point % | 23 |
| 22-23 | FT | 28-37 |
| 96 | Free Throw % | 76 |
| 42 | Rebounds | 30 |
| 12 | Offensive Rebounds | 9 |
| 30 | Defensive Rebounds | 21 |
| 12 | Assists | 6 |
| 4 | Steals | 12 |
| 3 | Blocks | 3 |
| 17 | Turnovers | 9 |
| 1 | Team Turnovers | 1 |
| 17 | Total Turnovers | 9 |
| 0 | Technical Fouls | 1 |
| 0 | Total Technical Fouls | 1 |
| 0 | Flagrant Fouls | 0 |
| 11 | Points Off Turnovers | 12 |
| 8 | Fast Break Points | 16 |
| 26 | Points in Paint | 34 |
| 24 | Fouls | 20 |
| 10 | Largest Lead | 5 |
Game Information
Location: St. Louis, MO
Attendance: 18,497 | Capacity:
2025-26 Big Ten Conference Standings
| TEAM | CONF | GB | OVER |
|---|---|---|---|
| Michigan | 19-1 | - | 35-3 |
| Nebraska | 15-5 | 4 | 28-7 |
| Illinois | 15-5 | 4 | 28-8 |
| Michigan State | 15-5 | 4 | 27-8 |
| Wisconsin | 14-6 | 5 | 24-11 |
| Purdue | 13-7 | 6 | 30-9 |
| UCLA | 13-7 | 6 | 24-12 |
| Ohio State | 12-8 | 7 | 21-13 |
| Iowa | 10-10 | 9 | 24-13 |
| Indiana | 9-11 | 10 | 18-14 |
| Minnesota | 8-12 | 11 | 15-18 |
| USC | 7-13 | 12 | 18-14 |
| Washington | 7-13 | 12 | 16-17 |
| Rutgers | 6-14 | 13 | 14-19 |
| Northwestern | 5-15 | 14 | 15-19 |
| Oregon | 5-15 | 14 | 12-20 |
| Maryland | 4-16 | 15 | 12-21 |
| Penn State | 3-17 | 16 | 12-20 |
2025-26 Southeastern Conference Standings
| TEAM | CONF | GB | OVER |
|---|---|---|---|
| Florida | 16-2 | - | 27-8 |
| Arkansas | 13-5 | 3 | 28-9 |
| Alabama | 13-5 | 3 | 25-10 |
| Vanderbilt | 11-7 | 5 | 27-9 |
| Tennessee | 11-7 | 5 | 25-12 |
| Texas A&M | 11-7 | 5 | 22-12 |
| Georgia | 10-8 | 6 | 22-11 |
| Kentucky | 10-8 | 6 | 22-14 |
| Missouri | 10-8 | 6 | 20-13 |
| Texas | 9-9 | 7 | 21-15 |
| Oklahoma | 7-11 | 9 | 20-15 |
| Auburn | 7-11 | 9 | 20-16 |
| Mississippi State | 5-13 | 11 | 13-19 |
| Ole Miss | 4-14 | 12 | 15-20 |
| South Carolina | 4-14 | 12 | 13-19 |
| LSU | 3-15 | 13 | 15-17 |