Customer Service Place an Ad Become a Carrier Contact Us About Us Mobile Edition E-Mail Updates Report Cancellation Submit Milestone
| Subscribe Now Customer Service Place an Ad Become a Carrier Contact Us About Us Mobile Edition E-Mail Updates Report Cancellation Submit Milestone
|
 |
 |
|
Weather  Calendar Obituaries Classifieds Jobs Autos Homes Rentals Coupons Ad Center Gift Finder |
Bloomington-Normal, Illinois
|
Home News Sports
Free Time Life Money Nation/World Opinion Blogs/Columns Archives Site Map |
| SportsThursday, December 22, 2005 12:42 PM CST |
 Comments (0) |  E-mail this page |  Print this page |  Enlarge type |  Reduce type |  Search archives |  RSS feeds |  Add to My Yahoo! |
'Crazy' night no tap
ST. LOUIS -- Jamar Smith's aim has been right on this season. The University of Illinois freshman sharpshooter is hitting 54.9 percent from 3-point range. Yet, once in awhile, even great shooters fire up an air ball. "I was talking to Dee about it and saying I can imagine the atmosphere because I watched the games on TV," Smith said. "He was like, ?~You can't even imagine because the atmosphere is so crazy.'" Hey, kid, take it from veterans such as Dee Brown and James Augustine -- there's nothing quite like the Braggin' Rights Game between the Illini and Missouri. Smith finds out for himself today. The sixth-ranked Illini (11-0) face Missouri (4-3) at 7 p.m. at the sold-out Savvis Center in the annual pre-Christmas bash. Illinois has a five-game winning streak in this heated rivalry and holds a 16-8 advantage since the game was moved to St. Louis in 1980. Brown and Augustine finished their careers 12-0 at the United Center in Chicago earlier this month when the Illini beat Xavier. They would like to stay undefeated at the Savvis Center, too, which Augustine believes would hold more significance. "The fans get into it more. The United Center games are mostly home crowds. This is half and half," Augustine said. "You have fans yelling at each other and stuff going on. It's a bigger game." If there was ever a game where records don't matter, this is it. Illinois and Missouri were headed in opposite directions last year. The Illini were ranked No. 1 and bound for a return trip to St. Louis later in the season at the Edward Jones Dome for The Final Four. The Tigers were struggling and eventually finished with a losing record. However, the Tigers gave the Illini one of their biggest scares. Illinois hung on for a 70-64 victory, but it was difficult to tell as the Illini players slowly walked off the court and looked more like losers than winners. illini From b1 The situation is much the same again. Missouri lost its opener to Sam Houston State at home and barely sneaked past Texas A&M-Corpus Christi. Fans seemingly have turned their back on Missouri coach Quin Snyder and the program (average home attendance: 6,489). While not as dominant as last year, Illinois is undefeated again and seeking to tie the fifth-best start in school history. "We can't go toe-to-toe with Illinois. We have to play harder than them," said Snyder, who is 1-5 against the Illini. "That's my responsibility to get more out of our guys more consistently. We're going to need that to be in the game." Missouri has been going with a smaller lineup. Thomas Gardner, a 6-foot-5 junior swingman, paces the Tigers with a 22.3 scoring average. Gardner is shooting 50 percent from beyond the 3-point arc, sinking 27 of 54 attempts. Senior guard Jimmy McKinney is the only other Missouri player averaging in double figures at 11.1 points. Kevin Young, a 6-9, 270-pound center, checks in with 9.0 points and 8.4 rebounds. "They're almost playing four guards. That puts you in a little of a bind," Illinois coach Bruce Weber said. "They're playing small and aggressive, and you have to adjust to it." Weber hopes Brian Randle's sprained ankle, which kept him out of Sunday's victory against Coppin State, is healed enough for him to be a factor. The long-armed 6-8 sophomore forward, the Illini's best perimeter defender, figures to keep a close eye on Gardner. "I sat out a good five days," Randle said before Monday's practice in Champaign. "I expect to be sore and hurting a little bit, but I'll try to push myself as much as I can." Weber said he doesn't anticipate Chester Frazier being ready. The freshman reserve guard has missed the last three games with a slight tear and strained quadriceps muscle in his left leg. However, Frazier has made a quicker-than-expected recovery and -- barring a setback -- should be ready to go for next week's games against Southeast Missouri State and Tennessee-Martin. Weber has found out in his two years as Illinois coach the unexpected happens in the Braggin' Rights Game. "Two years ago we were hoping to stay with them," Weber said, as Deron Williams was out with a broken jaw. "Last year was a little different story. They lost most of their players and these guys were new. "It shows you in this game, ... kids play at a high level. It's kind of like playing in a conference tournament. You throw out what you did for 16 or 18 games. This is it. You're playing to survive. Both teams play at a high level just to survive the game." The Illini don't have to worry about Linas Kleiza, who used his 6-8, 245-pound frame to barrel inside for 25 points last year. The Lithuanian-born Kleiza left school two years early and is playing for the NBA's Denver Nuggets. Snyder worries how Missouri will be able to rebound with the Illini, who hold an 8.8-per-game rebound margin. Missouri's rebound margin is 1.6. "Illinois plays at a tremendous tempo, and we have to be unbelievably urgent and alert. The game lends itself to that," Snyder said. "We saw some flashes of that against Arkansas on the road (in a 66-63 loss). "The kids really responded with 17,000 people screaming their lungs out against us. At least in this game, half the arena will be for us." Get area high school sports scores and statistics at Varsity Sports. E-mail this story | Print this story | Search archives | RSS Show comments |  Hide comments | Hide comments on all stories |
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||
 |
|
Top of Page | Home | News | Sports | Free Time | Life | Money | Nation/World | Opinion | Blogs/Columns | Archives | Site Map | RSS
Customer Service | 301 W. Washington St., PO Box 2907, Bloomington, IL 61701-2907 | Ph. 309-829-9000 | 800-747-7323
Copyright © 2009, Pantagraph Publishing Co. and Lee Enterprises. All rights reserved. | Terms of Use | Privacy Policy
|
Note: All views and opinions expressed in reader comments are solely those of the individual submitting the comment, and not those of the Pantagraph or its staff.
Please read the rules before posting comments.
You must be logged in to leave comments.
If you don't have a member ID, please register.