ST. LOUIS — That was a Braggin' Rights game.
A full arena split right down the middle — half orange and blue, half black and gold. Raucous cheers and boos at the same time, for the same plays and, of course, for polar opposite reasons.
Saturday night's showdown between Illinois and Missouri lived up to the hype surrounding it since both teams made coaching changes this spring.
Brad Underwood and Cuonzo Martin have brought life back to their respective programs, and it showed when they squared off in their annual rivalry game.
The game eventually turned out as competitive as expected, if not a bit sloppy in the second half.