The Illini swamped, smothered and otherwise dissected MU 88-63 at the Enterprise Center as the game came home to its traditional site after being held before only friends and family in Columbia last year because of COVID-19 measures.
It was the second-most lopsided loss for MU in the 41 years of the series, second only to an 82-50 defeat in 2005.
Illinois was led by bruising 7-footer Kofi Cockburn, who had 25 points and 14 rebounds. The Illini also hit 12 three-pointers to Mizzou’s six (on 23 attempts) and outrebounded Missouri 39-27. Swarming Cockburn early, the Tigers took a fleeting 8-6 lead. But moments later, Illini embarked on a 23-4 binge on its way to seizing a 29-12 lead that had all the makings of an early knockout of MU. To that point, Illinois had five three-pointers. And when Cockburn began to bust loose, punctuated by his fierce dunk to give Illinois what was then its biggest lead, Mizzou appeared to have virtually no solution to the variety of problems Illinois posed.