Tigers Show Promise in Tough Border War Loss

Instead of having his team spend the night in Lawrence, KS, Missouri Head Coach Dennis Gates took a page out of legendary MU coach Norm Stewart’s playbook. The Tigers spent Friday night on the Missouri side of Kansas City. They held a Saturday morning shoot-around at the University of Missouri-Kansas City before making the 40-minute trip to Lawrence to face the Jayhawks

The Border War (or showdown) is unlike any rivalry in collegiate athletics; these two teams hate each other more than they love themselves. The two can’t even agree on the all-time series record. Kansas says the all-time record between the two is 176-95 in favor of the Jayhawks, while Missouri lists it at 174-94 in KU's favor. The pair have played only twice in the past ten years, including a dominant 27-point Kansas win last year, and the time apart has only made the rivalry grow stronger. This is evident by Norm Stewart's refusal to “spend a dime over there,” which Dennis Gates emulated this weekend. This all brewed into the perfect storm for a Saturday evening matchup in Allen Fieldhouse.

Missouri jumped out to an early 15-6 lead just over seven minutes into the game, thanks to point guard Nick Honor, who hit a deep three-pointer to open the scoring for the Tigers. Missouri utilized its point guards early and often, with Honor connecting from long range and Sean East II leading the team in scoring with 12 points at the half.

However, the Jayhawks wouldn’t go down easily on their home court. KU stormed back late in the first half, outscoring Missouri 20-2, including a Kevin McCullar Jr. three-pointer with 2:30 left in the 1st half to put Kansas up five. The Jayhawks rode momentum en route to a 41-29 lead at the break, powered by McCullar Jr., who had a team-best 14 points in the first half.

Unusually quiet on the stat sheet was Hunter Dickinson, Kansas’ center and top-ranked transfer from Michigan. Dickinson only had one made shot at the half, but commanded the low post and stacked rebounds to give KU second-chance opportunities for teammates such as McCullar Jr., DaJuan Harris, and Elmarko Jackson. The Jayhawks utilized Dickinson in the second half, and by the time the horn sounded, Dickinson had recorded his 37th career double-double with 13 points and 16 rebounds.

Once Kansas gained the momentum and the lead, they never looked back. KU led the entire second half, and by as much as 18 after Parker Braun (a former Missouri Tiger) slammed home an alley-oop nine and a half minutes into the second half.

Missouri’s Achilles heel on Saturday was turnovers, a common theme this season. The Tigers totaled 12 turnovers; East II led the way with 5. Turnovers have been an issue for Missouri all year; after the game, their turnovers per game rose to 11.4, and they totaled 114 TOs on the season, the 5th-highest in the SEC.

By no means was this game a blowout. The Tigers fought the entire game, outscoring the Jayhawks 24-17 in the final 10 minutes. However, their effort would not be enough as Kansas won, 73-64.

There were significant highlights to the game for Missouri, other than covering the 13.5-point spread. Analysts and fans alike were all in consensus that Missouri had no chance to come into Allen Fieldhouse and compete with Bill Self’s Jayhawks. Missouri showed promise and hope for the future as freshmen Anthony Robinson II, Jordan Butler, and Trent Pierce all saw solid minutes.

Missouri fans should by no means be disappointed in the result of the game, as they went toe-to-toe with the No. 2 team in the country and didn’t flinch. The Tigers were down big and could’ve laid down and chalked it up as a loss, but instead they played with a determined passion that lit a fire under the team and the fans alike.

Dennis Gates was optimistic in his post-game presser, noting that Self has been building the culture of the Jayhawk program for 20 years, and that he hopes to do the same in Columbia. Tiger fans on social media shared the same message, saying that there is a lot to look forward to for Missouri basketball, as Gates has been winning recruiting battles and is stacking the roster with young talent.

While losing to your arch-rival will always sting, there is a lot to look forward to in the Show Me State.

(Gavin Liddell/MU Athletics 2023)