A most sufficient ass-kicking

Good morning, Tiger fans. Braggin’ Rights are back where they belong. And this year, they’ve got a little extra stank on ‘em.

Go ahead, watch the highlights again. You know you want to.

Whew. I think I need a cigarette.

While we were all basking the glow of an absolute skull-crushing of Illinois, Mizzou’s various scribes were busy cranking out some delectable prose. Like this choice paragraph from Dave Matter.

While the Tigers built their lead the Illini missed nine straight shots and went almost nine minutes between field goals. But it wasn’t just an off shooting night for Brad Underwood’s team. The Tigers beat the Illini to every loose ball, clawed the ball out of their hands and suffocated every inbounds plays. While the Illini players squabbled with each other and the officials, the Tigers feasted on every opportunity to maintain control. By the end of the half, Mizzou had scored 19 points off Illinois turnovers, held Illinois to 1-of-15 shooting from the 3-point arc and all but silenced the orange half of the arena.

Hold on, I’m going to read it again.

I was also partial to this recapping of Mizzou’s 22-3 run that all but cemented the outcome in the first half.

The Tigers scored 10 straight points (20-12) to force an Illinois timeout. And Missouri kept swinging, much to the chagrin of Brad Underwood, the Illinois coach who barked instructions to his team while “M-I-Z ... Z-O-U” chants rang out in the crowd.

Brown scored after gathering an offensive rebound. Underwood let out a scowl. ... 12-0 run

Hodge poked a ball away, sprinted down the court and drilled a three from the right corner. ... 15-0 run

Illinois made two free throws, but Sean East answered and then Hodge banked in another three. ... 20-2 run

Illinois made another free throw, but Hodge answered with a score at the rim, plus a foul. ... 22-3 run

And recalling the way fans screamed for Kobe Brown in the game’s dying seconds? It doesn’t get better than Matt Stahl at The Tribune. But with under six minutes to go, the crowd began calling his name. He had just made a contested shot for two points, giving him 30 on the night, and was about to take his free throw to make it a career high.

“Kobe, Kobe, Kobe, Kobe,” the crowd screamed into the St. Louis evening.

Missouri’s Kobe Brown drilled the free throw to cap off his night. He finished the game with 31 points, along with eight assists and five rebounds.

Brown has played in plenty of Missouri basketball games through the years. Thursday’s contest was his best.

It’s not just Mizzou scribes taking notice of what we’ve known for a few weeks now. College pundits are starting to recognize that something exciting is happening in Columbia.

Andy Katz is a believer.

And so is the “This is March” guy.

Jeff Goodman? He was too busy talking about how much of a mess Illinois are. Tough break, Jeff, maybe take the rest of the holidays off. Maybe you can at least give Mizzou credit for their good grades?

Yesterday at Rock M

• In which Aaron highlights three match ups that could be the key to victory against Wake Forest
• In which Nate and BK discuss Mizzou’s signing day and preview their bowl game
• In which we all hooted and hollered together as Mizzou absolutely trashed Illinois
• In which Brandon recapped Mizzou’s total domination

More Links:

• Mizzou Football got some good news on the eve of their bowl game... Realus George is coming back to Columbia next year.

Mizzou needs some continuity on the line and he’ll help bring it.

• At the Missourian, Jack Soble profiled Brady Cook, who reflected on the progress he’s made in his “sophomore” season. Now-former teammate Dominic Lovett had some thoughts on Cook’s progress too.

The numbers back it up, too. In November, Cook threw seven touchdowns and zero interceptions. In September and October, he threw six and seven, respectively. Perhaps just as significantly, the Tigers have unlocked Cook’s rushing ability. The discourse has gone from “Cook is underrated as a runner” to “Cook’s legs are a legitimate weapon.”

“I was running with a couple Arkansas defenders, and they went, ‘This boy running!’” now-former Missouri receiver Dominic Lovett said after the Arkansas game. “I was like, ‘Yeah, it’s about time!’ … He’s progressed a lot, with his confidence, his swag, taking shots. Is it a turning point? Yes.”

• Thank God for the Braggin’ Rights win, which definitely takes the sting off of Dominic Lovett’s announcement that he’ll be staying in the SEC East at Georgia.
• I can smell the infield dirt already!

• Mizzou does National Signing Day right, take notice future recruits!
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