Big 12 Conference Notebook
by Zach Ewing
My oh my, how things have changed in the Big 12 from just a short two weeks ago. It had appeared, a fortnight ago, that Kansas was one of the league’s elite, Texas Tech and Oklahoma were safely in the NCAA Tournament and teams like Colorado and Missouri were left for dead. But not so fast, ladies and gentlemen. None of those things is for certain now.
Overtimes galore
There were four overtime periods in two days of Big 12 play on Tuesday and Wednesday. Baylor came back from an eight-point deficit to win 67-61 in OT and keep Texas A&M winless. The Aggies (0-14 in Big 12 play) just can’t seem to do the little things it takes to win close games. In this one, Antoine Wright, perhaps A&M’s best player, missed the front end of a one-and-one with 23 seconds left in regulation and the Aggies up 57-55. After Terrance Thomas bounced one home to tie the game, Wright drew another foul but missed two free throws. In overtime, Matt Sayman scored 8 points in a 10-2 Bears run that would be all BU needed.
In a game with huge NCAA Tournament implications, Colorado couldn’t hang on to a 17-point lead at home against Oklahoma, but won 94-87 in overtime anyway. The Sooners scored an astounding 34 points in the last 9:53 of regulation to force a 77-77 tie, thanks in part to 35 points in the game from Jason Detrick. But in overtime, the Buffaloes jumped all over OU, scoring the first five points while the Sooners could score on nothing but free throws until the game was well in hand. The game is a big boost for Colorado, which has an RPI in the low 50s but is now 9-5 in Big 12 play and can seriously think about the tournament, and a painful loss for OU. The Sooner can finish no better than 8-8 in conference and are squarely on the bubble for the tournament.
The game in Columbia, Mo., did both of the aforementioned games one overtime better on Tuesday night when the Oklahoma State Cowboys came to town. The Tigers controlled the first half with some spectacular play by Rickey Paulding and Arthur Johnson and led 50-39 at the break. MU shot 56 percent in the first half and 5-of-6 from three-point range. Mizzou still led 71-62 with 3:08 left when OSU began using a full-court press that stymied the Tigers and allowed the Cowboys to tie the game at 73.
Oklahoma State took an 82-79 lead with about 30 seconds to go in the first OT, but freshman Thomas Gardner nailed a clutch three to tie the game. John Lucas, who kept the Cowboys from being blown out in regulation and finished with 30 points, missed a runner to send the game to another overtime. Johnson hit two free throws with 30.3 seconds to go and MU led 93-92. Lucas missed a three off the back iron at the buzzer, and the student section at MU rained down on the court. Paulding finished with 31 points and Johnson had 29 point and 13 rebounds.
Combine the Tiger upset on Tuesday with a solid win on the road at Kansas State, and all of a sudden Missouri is making a big push for the tournament. Mizzou has won six straight and is 9-5 in the conference.
Baylor and Texas A&M almost shake things up
The key word here is “almost,” but the two bottom-feeders in the Big 12 both put big scares into teams that expected an easy time in a game where a loss would have been devastating. First, we go to College Station, where “almost” has been a catch phrase all year long. The Aggies shot 50 percent in the first half to take a 42-36 lead into the locker room against Colorado. A loss to A&M would have not only erased CU’s win against Oklahoma, it may have crippled the Buffs’ tournament chances. So Colorado responded in the second half with defense and won 76-70. A&M shot only 29 percent after the break, and three straight three-pointers by Blair Wilson put CU ahead for good at 62-51.
Baylor also “almost” had a huge upset at home on Saturday. Oklahoma State, fresh off the hard-fought loss to Missouri, Oklahoma State had fallen into a first-place tie with Texas at 11-2. The Bears almost caught OSU napping, getting within two before falling 72-65. The Cowboys struggled but eventually got out to a 65-53 lead. Baylor, however, then went on a 12-2 run led by Harvey Thomas to get within 67-65 with a minute left. Oklahoma State used the entire shot clock and scored on the other end to lead 69-65 and then BU missed three three-pointers and the Cowboys survived. Tony Allen heaved a ball in relief toward the basket after rebounding the last Baylor miss and it went in without Allen even realizing it to account for the final margin.
So what happens if Team X and Team Y tie?
I’m so glad you asked. The Big 12 has a fairly clear-cut tie-breaker system in place. The first breaker is head-to-head competition, meaning that if either team has an advantage in games played against the other team, that team gets the higher seed in the Big 12 Tournament. If the tie is between three or more teams, a round-robin format will be used. If the teams are still tied, the team with the best record within the division (the North and South divisions used for football) wins the tie-breaker. The North consists of Colorado, Iowa State, Kansas, Kansas State, Missouri and Iowa State and the South is Baylor, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, Texas, Texas A&M, and Texas Tech.
The third tie-breaker is the record against the best team in the division, then the second-best team, etc. If the teams are still tied, then the records are compared against the best team in the opposite division. If the teams have lost the exact same games to every opponent, then the winner will be determined by draw.
So what does all this mean? First, at the top of the standings, if Oklahoma State beats Texas on Monday night, the Cowboys will own all tie-breakers against the Longhorns, even if Texas could catch back up. If Texas wins, it would own any tie-breaker courtesy of a 9-1 South division record. In the race for 2nd-5th place, Kansas cannot catch either Texas or Oklahoma State for second because both teams beat the Jayhawks. Kansas would own a tie-breaker over Colorado, because it beat CU twice, and likely over Missouri, even if the Tigers beat KU on Sunday. KU has three North division losses, MU has four. In a tie between CU and MU, since the teams split the head-to-head match-ups, fourth place would be determined by divisional records: CU is currently 5-3 against the North and MU is 5-4.
Got all of that? Quiz on Friday.
Texas and Oklahoma State in title bout
The Big 12 Big Monday game this week on ESPN will certainly be big – championship-big. The winner of the game between 12-2 OSU and 12-2 UT in Stillwater, Okla., will clinch the No. 1 seed in the conference tournament and at least a share of the Big 12 regular-season championship.
The advantage on the perimeter goes to Oklahoma State. John Lucas can beat you in many different ways and he hardly ever makes a mistake. Tony Allen is also a dangerous dribble-drive penetrator, but OSU doesn’t want him to shoot the three-ball (less than 30 percent). Forward Joey Graham can also step out and hit a perimeter shot. For Texas, Brandon Mouton has been red-hot of late, and should carry the perimeter scoring load. Kevin Paulino, Royal Ivey and Kenny Thomas are all dangerous customers, but will have to be playing their best defense to shut down Lucas and Allen.
On the inside, Texas’ depth will give it an advantage. James Thomas and Brian Boddicker are the Longhorns’ best players in the paint, but the level of play doesn’t drop much when P.J. Tucker, Jason Klotz or Brad Buckman is in the game. On the other end of the floor, Ivan McFarlin and Joey Graham must play well, especially on defense, to keep up with the slew of Texas big men. McFarlin got into foul trouble against Missouri and had his minutes limited. Both he and Graham must stay out of foul trouble, because Jason Miller and Terrence Crawford, while excellent role players, can’t compete with Texas’ bench.
Usually, inside play trumps perimeter shooting, but the game is in Gallagher-Iba Arena and I think Eddie Sutton will slightly out-coach Rick Barnes. Oklahoma State 74, Texas 70.
Big 12 in the NCAAs
At this point, I think Oklahoma State, Texas and Kansas are the only locks for the tournament. If Texas Tech can beat Missouri or at least Iowa State at home this week, the Red Raiders can feel good about their chances despite slipping in the last few weeks. If Mizzou extends its winning streak to eight with wins at Texas Tech and home against Kansas this week, the Tigers are in, a startling turnaround for a team that was once 9-10. Same goes for Colorado: two wins and the Buffs are in. Winning at Iowa State is a lot tougher than it sounds, though. Already MU, KU and Texas have fallen there.
Oklahoma is in deep trouble. The Sooners need to sweep their easy schedule this week and beat an upper-echelon team in the Big 12 Tournament to get back in the at-large discussion. The Big 12 might get six teams in, but there isn’t enough room for Missouri, Colorado and Oklahoma. Right now the Sooners are the odd men out.
As for seeds, the winner of OSU-UT is looking at about a No. 2 seed; the loser a 3. Everything else, including Kansas’ seed, is up in the air at this point. The Big 12 Tournament in Dallas will decide most everything.
Big 12 Player of the Week
Rickey Paulding, Missouri – Paulding (and Arthur Johnson) carried the Tigers to victory against Oklahoma State with 31 points and 5-of-6 from three-point range, and then scored 17 in the second half alone against Kansas State, including a monster dunk. He also had 8 assists against the Wildcats.
Big 12 Freshman/Newcomer of the Week
P.J. Tucker, Texas – Tucker averaged 13 points and 9 rebounds a game this week against quality competition, and he overcame freshman jitters to hit two big free throws against Texas Tech to help seal the win.
Around the Big 12
Baylor Bears (3-11 Big 12, 8-19 overall)
It’s too bad the Bears won’t be going to the Big 12 Conference Tournament. They would be a wonderful spoiler. In BU’s last three games, it has sent Missouri and Oklahoma State down to the final possession and defeated Texas A&M. Talent and depth-wise, all three of those teams should have handled Baylor easily. Wednesday night, the Bears beat A&M 67-61 in overtime when Matt Sayman scored 8 of his 15 points in the extra session. The Bears fought back from eight down in the second half with a 13-3 run that gave them the lead with less than five minutes remaining. It was a 10-2 spurt in overtime that sealed BU’s third conference victory, three more than most thought they would have. Harvey Thomas scored 17 points and Terrance Thomas added 12.
The Bears almost pulled the shocker of the year in not only the Big 12 but probably in the country, too when they had Oklahoma State on the ropes Saturday. Again, BU fell behind in the second half, this time by 12, but Harvey Thomas scored 10 points in a 12-2 run that cut the Cowboy lead to 67-65. After John Lucas made a terrific dish to Ivan McFarlin for a four-point lead, Baylor missed three shots that all would have made it a one-point game. The Thomas’s were spectacular, but not quite enough in the 72-65 loss: Harvey scored 24 and Terrance added 22 points and 7 rebounds.
This week: Wednesday vs. Kansas State, Saturday at Oklahoma
Colorado Buffaloes (9-5, 17-8)
Early in the season, Colorado was overlooked by everyone, especially after consecutive blow-outs at home to Utah, Richmond and Kansas. Now that CU has gotten it together with a four-game winning streak, everyone is overlooking the Buffs because of Missouri’s similar turnaround and all of the other discussion that comes with college basketball at the end of February. I suppose, however, that that’s fine with the folks in Boulder, as long as the tournament committee doesn’t look past CU also.
Two hard-to-get but important wins were had by Colorado this week. First, Wednesday against Oklahoma, CU built a 60-43 lead behind strong play from center David Harrison, but OU came back strong and Colorado weakened on the defensive end. The Sooners sent the game to overtime, but Buffalo Marcus Hall scored 7 points in the extra session to help Colorado to a 94-87 win. Harrison finished with 21 points and 15 rebounds, Blair Wilson had 18 points and Michel Morandais added 14.
Against Texas A&M on Saturday, Ricardo Patton’s team continued to struggle on the road, allowing Texas A&M to take one of its biggest leads of the conference season, 42-36 at halftime. Fortunately for CU, it recovered in time to earn its second straight road game. The Buffaloes built a double-digit advantage with strong play from Wilson and then hung on in the end. Wilson scored 19 points, Harrison had 21 with 8 rebounds and Morandais dished out 9 assists to go with 12 points. If Colorado can make it a three-game road winning streak at Iowa State, they can think Big Dance.
This week: Wednesday at Iowa State, Saturday vs. Nebraska
Iowa State Cyclones (6-8, 15-10)
At times it appeared Iowa State would really surprise some people this year and at times it looked as if there was no hope for the Cyclones. In the end, ISU has ended up somewhere in between. Still a chance of a .500 conference record, although that would involve a win at Texas Tech. This is a team that could win or lose any game it plays in Dallas, and that makes ISU dangerous.
The Cyclones did not play well Wednesday, but they were able to pull out a win against Kansas State at home anyway. K-State played well behind Jeremiah Massey and led 44-37, but Jake Sullivan and John Neal each bombed away, combining for 8 three-pointers, and Iowa State won the game 75-69, reversing the result of a 90-59 loss in Manhattan two weeks before. Sullivan had 24 points and Jackson Vroman added 16, but it was Neal, a walk-on, who hit two threes to put the Cyclones up 68-61 and 71-64 late in the game.
The team from Ames has been playing much better on the road in its last two games away from Hilton Coliseum. After a one-point overtime loss to KU two Saturdays ago, Iowa State took Nebraska to the wire in Lincoln before falling 68-65. Iowa State led 65-62 with less than a minute left, but NU scored the game’s last six points. The Cyclones were forced to fight back from 39-29 down, but did so behind the play of freshman Curtis Stinson and senior Jackson Vroman, who scored 22 points.
This week: Wednesday vs. Colorado, Saturday at Texas Tech
Kansas Jayhawks (10-4, 18-7)
Play well at home, but poorly on the road. It’s an adage that’s familiar to many teams, especially in the Big 12, but Kansas is not a team used to it. But the Jayhawks looked lost for the second straight time away from Lawrence when they traveled to Austin and took it on the chin from Texas 82-67. Kansas fell behind big early, but cut the Longhorn lead to 47-43 early in the second half, but Texas responded with a bouncing three-pointer from Brian Boddicker (how many big shots has he hit this year?) and a lay-up to quickly make the lead nine. Texas eventually extended that run to 23-9 and buried KU. Keith Langford led Kansas with 17 points and Wayne Simien had 15 point and 8 rebounds, but he shot only 5-of-16 from the field.
KU returned home on Sunday, and it was a completely different story. The Jayhawks blitzed Oklahoma from the start and beat the Sooners 79-58. Simien scored 26 points and pulled down 8 rebounds and Langford added 22 more. Aaron Miles continued to be one of the best point guards without being noticed in America. He only had 2 points but controlled the offense, finishing with 10 assists. Kansas led 20-7 early, let Oklahoma back within two early in the second half, and then raced to the finish line to stay in sole possession of third place in the Big 12. The only bad news Sunday for the Jayhawks was a foot injury to freshman big man David Padgett. His status for this week’s games is unknown.
This week: Wednesday vs. Nebraska, Sunday at Missouri
Kansas State Wildcats (4-10, 12-13)
The Wildcats played two good first halves this week, but they were only able to extend control of both games for a few minutes after halftime. First, against Iowa State on Wednesday, Jeremiah Massey took over in the first half and early in the second. His lay-up with less than 14 minutes to play put KSU up 44-37, but then Jake Sullivan and John Neal took over for Iowa State. K-State did an admirable job staying close in a tough place to play, but in the end fell to 1-9 on the road. Massey finished with 23 points.
Saturday, neither Kansas State nor Missouri played particularly well in the first half, but the Wildcats had a late 6-0 run and 10 assists against only 3 turnovers in the half and led 35-28. They were able to extend the lead to 39-29 with about 18 minutes to play when Rickey Paulding and Jason Conley took over for Missouri, making a 10-point KSU lead quickly into a six, and then an 11, and then a 17-point deficit. Massey had 17 points and 9 rebounds and 10 K-State players scored, but MU won 79-69.
This week: Wednesday at Baylor, Saturday vs. Texas
Missouri Tigers (9-5, 15-10)
The question surrounding Missouri all year long has asked when the Tigers were going to “find themselves” and reel off a big winning streak. When MU fell to 9-10 and 4-5 in conference with a blow-out loss at Nebraska, many began to think it was never going to happen, Au contraire, mon ami. Mizzou punctuated what is now a six-game winning streak by beating Oklahoma State 93-92 in double overtime on Tuesday night. The Tigers, despite the best efforts of John Lucas, controlled play throughout the game and led 71-62 with just more than three minutes to play, but the Cowboys stormed back to tie the game with an 11-2 run. Then, in what looked like a repeat of Missouri’s heartbreaking overtime loss to Texas in January, the Cowboys took control in the first overtime. But freshman Thomas Gardner drained a three to keep the Tigers in the game. In the second OT, Arthur Johnson, who has historically struggled with free-throw shooting, hit two freebies to give MU the lead and Lucas missed a three at the buzzer with Travon Bryant, a 6-9 forward, guarding. Paulding, Johnson and Bryant, three seniors, combined for 72 of MU’s points.
If Gardner’s three-pointer was the shot of the game in Tuesday’s game, Paulding took the honors in Saturday’s 79-69 win against Kansas State. With K-State leading 39-31, Paulding drove down the court and took off from well outside the paint area to slam over Frank Richards and draw a controversial foul in the process. The crowd wanted a charge, but Paulding completed the three-point play and scored 17 points in the second half after a scoreless first half. 15 of the points came in a 27-6 run that gave MU control. Jason Conley also had a huge second half, scoring 16 of his 20 points after the break. The Tigers shot 64 percent from three-point range in the half.
Emotions will be running high Sunday in Columbia. Not only is MU’s arch-rival Kansas coming to town, but a tournament bid may be on the line AND it’s the last game in the Hearnes Center. Like KU, MU may be without a key freshman. Gardner injured his shoulder in the win against KSU.
This week: Wednesday at Texas Tech, Sunday vs. Kansas
Nebraska Cornhuskers (6-8, 16-9)
Speaking of red-hot teams, the Cornhuskers are one nobody wants to face in Dallas (or in the coming week, for that matter). NU has won five of its last seven, with the two losses games the Huskers could (and should) have won against Kansas State and Oklahoma State. Nebraska put together won of the most impressive performances by any team this season when it beat Texas Tech 72-44. The Huskers out-scored TTU 38-18 in the second half and held the Red Raiders to 31 percent shooting. Nate Johnson scored 17 points on 7-of-9 shooting and quieted Andre Emmett, who leads the Big 12 in scoring but finished with only 9 points. NU out-rebounded Tech 51-24.
Nebraska had more difficulty in beating Iowa State 68-65 on Saturday, but six unanswered points in the final 28 seconds got the job done. With his team down 65-62, Jake Muhleisen hit two free throws to cut the lead to one, and then forced a turnover on the ensuing inbounds pass. Johnson then spun into the lane and made a lay-up to give NU the lead with 23.6 left. Johnson also hit two free throws with 11 seconds remaining. Four different Cyclones had shots in the last 20 seconds, but three missed and John Turek blocked Curtis Stinson’s attempt. Johnson, who had 22 points, helped NU to a 10-point lead earlier, but the Huskers blew it and need the late comeback.
This week: Wednesday at Kansas, Saturday at Colorado
Oklahoma Sooners (6-8, 16-9)
It’s a long way down from 10-0 and nationally ranked in the top 10 to 6-8 in conference and sitting on a bursting bubble. Just ask the folks in Norman. Jason Detrick’s 35 points weren’t enough for OU on Wednesday in a 94-87 overtime loss to Colorado. The Sooners showed sudden flashes of offense in the game’s last nine minutes of regulation by more than doubling their score from the first 31, but it was only enough to force overtime. There the Buffaloes had their way, and OU had trouble scoring on anything but free throws.
Another big deficit and a loss awaited Oklahoma at Kansas on Sunday, but there would be no comeback in between this time. Kansas jumped to a big early lead, and OU fought back to within 40-38 early in the second. But two key moments were the fourth and fifth fouls to Jabahri Brown. The fourth, which came with KU leading 43-38, gave the Wayne Simien a big advantage inside and the Jayhawks some breathing room. Brown returned, but with KU leading 59-46 with about eight minutes left, he got his fifth foul. Coach Kelvin Sampson earned a technical for disputing the call, and KU went on a 20-9 run to make this one a laugher. Lawrence McKenzie led OU with 15 points, but the Sooners were out-rebounded 35-22. Two wins this week are an absolute must.
This week: Wednesday vs. Texas A&M, Saturday vs. Baylor
Oklahoma State Cowboys (12-2, 22-3)
John Lucas took the Cowboys on his back Tuesday night against Missouri, but even several off-balance three-pointers and satin-smooth drives to the hoop for 30 points couldn’t quite get OSU over the hump. Ivan McFarlin was in foul trouble for much of the game and Daniel Bobik shot 0-of-7 as the Cowboys fell 93-92 in double overtime. Give Oklahoma State credit for fighting back from a monstrous Missouri first half; after giving up 50 points in the first half, OSU surrendered only 23 in the second half. Tony Allen also had a big game with 24 points, including eight in the second overtime, but Lucas missed shots at the end of both OTs that could have won the game.
The Cowboys played a classic “trap” game Saturday against Baylor. Coming off the emotional, double-overtime loss and just two days before a championship showdown with Texas, the Bears were simply an afterthought. That is, until OSU found themselves up only two points with a minute to play. Baylor tied up a loose ball, but Oklahoma State kept the ball via the possession arrow. Then Lucas ran the shot clock all the way down before feeding McFarlin for a lay-up and a 69-65 lead. Baylor missed three three-pointers the next trip down the floor before Allen finally rebounded one. He heaved the ball down toward the other basket and fell to the ground in relief. The heave went through the basket to make the final score 72-65.
This week: Monday vs. Texas, Saturday vs. Texas A&M
Texas Longhorns (12-2, 21-4)
Thanks to Mizzou’s win over Oklahoma State, Texas is now tied atop the Big 12. The Longhorns first got within a half-game of the Cowboys with an 82-67 win against Kansas on Monday night. Brandon Mouton scored over 20 points for the fourth consecutive game with 23 and Texas led for very nearly the entire game. A late 13-2 run in the first half gave Texas a 39-26 lead, and an 18-8 run, highlighted by eight points from James Thomas, gave UT a commanding 65-51 lead. Freshman P.J. Tucker added 11 points and 8 rebounds.
In its first game in first place, Texas came through in another close game with Texas Tech, winning 74-71. Mouton finally was held below 20 points but led the ‘Horns anyway with 17 points. Tucker added 15 to go with 10 rebounds. With Texas up 70-68, the Red Raiders fouled Tucker, who hit two huge free throws to make it a 72-68 game. Andre Emmett made a three to cut the lead to one, but then Mouton hit two more free throws and Emmett missed two threes at the other end and the buzzer sounded. Five Longhorns scored in double figure, Texas survived and now we have the showdown in Stillwater.
This week: Monday at Oklahoma State, Saturday at Kansas State
Texas A&M Aggies (0-14, 7-18)
Melvin Watkins’ team found itself in a rare situation in both of its games this week: leading a game and having to fend off an opponent. Texas A&M wasn’t able to keep Baylor and Colorado from coming back, though. Antoine Wright scored 18 points, but missed three free throws in the final 30 seconds of regulation that could have won the game in a 67-61 overtime loss to Baylor. Two of the free throws came with the game tied and three seconds left. In overtime, it looked as if A&M had given up, and Baylor easily secured the win.
It wasn’t quite as heartbreaking, but A&M lost 76-70 to Colorado on Saturday after having led 42-36. A&M shot 50 percent in the first half but made just 7-of-24 in the second half, including three field goals that came in the final minutes when CU had a double-digit lead. Kevin Turner led the Aggies with 21 points, but A&M has clinched the No. 11 seed in the Big 12 Tournament and has only three chances, including a first-round game against the No. 6 seed, to win a Big 12 game.
This week: Wednesday at Oklahoma, Saturday at Oklahoma State
Texas Tech Red Raiders (7-7, 19-9)
There was a bad performance and a good performance for Bobby Knight’s squad this week, but two costly losses just the same. In a humiliating 72-44 loss at Nebraska on Tuesday night, no Red Raider had more than 10 points or 4 rebounds, and Tech, as Knight said in one of the two questions he answered after the game, was out-played in every facet of the game. Andre Emmett, who leads the Big 12 in scoring, both this season and for his career, had only 9 points on 4-of-11 shooting.
Emmett was back to form Saturday against Texas, but he came up one shot short. After P.J. Tucker and Brandon Mouton each made two big free throws, Emmett had a chance to tie the game with a three but missed. He gathered his own rebound but missed again from the corner as time expired. Emmett had 21 points and 8 rebounds, with 11 of the points coming in the final five minutes to help erase a 56-46 deficit. And unlike the Nebraska game, where only Jarrius Jackson was in double figures, four Raiders had at least 11 points. But close doesn’t count in this business and TTU needs a couple more wins, either in the regular season or the conference tournament, to go dancing.
This week: Wednesday vs. Missouri, Saturday vs. Iowa State
Five games to watch this week
Monday: Texas at Oklahoma State – There’s some reason I think this game is important, but I can’t remember what. I hope you know.
Wednesday: Missouri at Texas Tech – big-time bubble game. Lubbock is a tough place to play, but MU is scalding hot.
Wednesday: Colorado at Iowa State – A win here and Colorado is on pace to make the tournament. That is, unless…
Saturday: Nebraska at Colorado – Don’t be surprised if streaking Nebraska catches Kansas or Colorado napping at home this week.
Sunday: Kansas at Missouri – Need a reason to watch? Pick one: last game of the regular season, arch-rival game for both teams, could be a battle for third place, Missouri is one the bubble, Kansas needs a win away from home, and it’s the last game in Hearnes Center history.
