Border War was a party at Missouri, then the game against Kansas started
The breezy start to Missouri’s season ended with a force of crashing into a brick wall.
The Tigers’ first loss of the season came to Kansas, 95-67 before an enthusiastic crowd at Mizzou Arena that included such school sports luminaries such as Norm Stewart, Gary Pinkel, Max Scherzer and current Mizzou football coach Eliah Drinkwitz, who sat in the student section and held up signs.
The occasion was the first visit in 11 years by the Jayhawks, who created the pause in the series after Missouri left for the SEC but must be getting a kick from the renewal: Two games into a six-year agreement and Kansas has won by a combined 65 points.
The building was packed and the atmosphere rowdy, just as it was in the days of the Border War as Big 12 opponent. Only the game was lacking.
Sixth-ranked Kansas jumped to a 16-9 lead by the first media timeout and was really never threatened. It helped to make 11 straight field goals early, while Mizzou seemed to be missing everything it chucked.
“There’s a reason why Kansas is top-ten in the country, a reason why Bill Self is a Hall of Fame coach,” Missouri coach Dennis Gates said.
Missouri hadn’t seen this level of competition through its 9-0 start. The Tigers didn’t play in a preseason tournament, rather scheduled a list of mostly low majors at home. It passed its biggest test, an overtime victory at Wichita State to keep the run alive.
Along the way, the Tigers amassed some impressive numbers. They entered the game leading the nation in several categories such as scoring (93.0 points per game), fastbreak points (22.2), assists (21.6) and steals (14.1). Yes, they ran up totals against lesser competition, but that had maximized the effort.
Kansas turned all of those numbers around.
Lowest point total, a mere 10 fastbreak points, eight assists and five steals.
The Tigers’ most effective offense was players such as guard Nick Honor and D’Moi Hodge breaking down their defender and scoring.
“The way they hurt us today, and they hurt us a lot on this, was playing one-on-one. They just played take ‘em, and they shot a lot of layups,” Kansas coach Bill Self said. “I thought their individual offense was better than our individual defense.”
That’s not how Missouri has been playing, but Kansas forced the issue.
“We didn’t execute the way we planned,” Honor said.
Only a couple of times did Missouri start a run that enlivened the crowd. Toward the end of the first half, Missouri cut a 19-point deficit to 44-31 on Honor’s three-pointer. But Kansas’ Jalen Wilson answered immediately with a three after some nifty ball movement.
The margin soared to 26 early in the second half before the Tigers chipped away to make it a 15-point game twice, the final time on Honor’s layup with 7 minutes, 13 seconds to play. But quickly the lead was back in the 20s.
‘When our fans were right there at the edge of their seats we didn’t give them a reason (to stay there),” Gates said.
Gates spoke generally about lessons learned and shed no further light on the availability of a player — Isiaih Mosley, the 20-point scorer at Missouri State last year — who didn’t play against Kansas. Mosley, a Columbia Rock Bridge High teammate of Kansas guard Dajuan Harris, has appeared in seven of 10 games.
“I anticipate Isiaih helping us without a doubt,” Gates said. “You have to look at the big picture. The transition Isiaih is going through, he’s going to get to the other side of it and he’s going to help us win ball games.”
The Tigers could have used all the help they could get against Kansas. And the road doesn’t get easier. The confidence-growing part of the schedule is over. After meeting Central Florida on Saturday in Sunrise, Fla., the Tigers face Braggin’ Rights opponent Illinois in St. Louis then open SEC play with a gauntlet of Kentucky and Arkansas.
The ramp up has started.
This story was originally published December 10, 2022 at 8:38 PM.