Well, Phil Pressey just played either the best awful game or worst great game of all-time. Regardless, his performance -- 3-for-19 shooting, 10 assists, seven rebounds -- dictated Mizzou's game (for better and for worse) in the Tigers 82-73 win over Illinois. That's four straight for Mizzou in the Braggin' Rights series.

Laurence Bowers scored 23 points on 10-for-18 shooting, Jabari Brown scored 18 on 5-for-10 shooting (he made three 3-pointers), and Mizzou scored a 10th-round knockout. Illinois went up 64-61 with just under seven minutes remaining, but Mizzou won the game with an 18-6 run. The Tigers took some serious blows from an exciting Illini squad and won anyway.

It stinks that there is no bowl game for us to prepare for now. But it's officially basketball season now. And that ain't all bad ... because this Mizzou team could be really, really good.