The No. 4 Missouri Tigers rode the crowd to overcome a late second half eight point deficit to defeat the No. 8 Kansas Jayhawks, 74-71.
The majority of the game was a close battle between the two rivals. Missouri took a five point lead into halftime. Kansas fought back at the start of the second half and controlled the flow of the game until 2.5 minutes remaining when Marcus Denmon took over for the Tigers. Denmon was fouled on a made layup and made two 3-pointers over the next minute to give the Tigers a one point lead. With ten seconds left in the game, Michael Dixon hit two free throws to seal the deal for Missouri.
Denmon, who had been shooting 13 of 52 from the floor over the previous four games, led the Tigers with 29 points. Denmon also had nine rebounds. The other Missouri starters scored a combined 12 points, but Kim English and Dixon added 33 points off the bench.
Thomas Robinson led the Jayhawks with 25 points and 13 rebounds. Tyshawn Taylor also had 21 points, but he scored 17 points in the first half and missed two free throws with 42 seconds left in the game.
One big difference in the game was the discrepancies in free throws. Missouri was 14 of 20 from the line while Kansas made only five out of nine.
Kansas's next game is against No. 6 Baylor on Feb. 8 at 7 p.m. (ET) and Missouri faces Oklahoma on Feb. 6 at 7 p.m. (ET).
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