The storied history between Missouri and Kansas sports has long been documented. Adjectives to describe the relationship between the fans and teams could be; contentious, unfriendly, envious, hatred, intense, fierce, and timeless until now.
After the 2011-2012 basketball season, Missouri will be heading to the SEC to play in a new conference and embrace a new future. The Big 12 leadership was less than stellar over the past few years as they lost Nebraska, Colorado, Texas A and M (leaving after this season as well) and Missouri. Since then, the Big 12 found new leadership and will add West Virginia and TCU to stay at 10 teams, but Kansas will be losing an intense rival in Missouri.
Throw stats, history, trends and everything that makes sense out of the window. When the Jayhawks show up in Columbia, all rational thought goes to the curb. It will shape up to be 40 minutes of nail biting action. Both teams have hovered in the top 10 in the national poles for a majority of the season. Each team has downed top 10 teams to stay atop the Big 12 and had questionable losses to inferior teams.
Missouri utilizes a four guard lineup while Kansas depends on Thomas Robinson and Jeff Withey in the paint. Matchup problems exist for both teams on both ends of the court.
Kansas will be coming in with some momentum with a string win over Oklahoma and Missouri will be coming in with a last minute win over a tough Texas team.
What's at stake?
- Sole possession of the Big 12 lead. Kansas can retain the sole lead of the conference with a win. Missouri can even the record and co-lead with a win.
- Bragging rights for the last KU-MU game in Columbia for the foreseeable future. With Missouri going to the SEC, Kansas has decided not to continue to play Missouri in a non-conference game, for now. That may change, but it could be years before the Hawks make the trip to Columbia.
- With both teams able to reach the top 5 in the country in the past, a win over a top 10 team would go a long way to assist either team in getting a number 1 seed in the NCAA tournament.
- Plain old bragging rights. What fan or player doesn't love having that one-up retort to any trash talk? We beat you last game. You can't refute it.
Look for a battle. Expect the Tigers to come out energized and the Hawks will more than likely need to buckle down and weather the first 10 minutes of adrenaline from Missouri. If Kansas can keep the deficit to below 10 points, they have a chance to chip away at the lead the remainder of the game, quiet the crowd and take the win in the final minutes.
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