It wasn't a meaningless game, but Missouri's loss to Kansas State on Tuesday does nothing to mitigate the stakes for Saturday.
That's when the third-ranked Tigers (25-3, 12-3 Big 12) travel to Lawrence to face fifth-ranked Kansas (25-2, 12-2 Big 12) in a game that could decide the Big 12 regular-season title.
It's a game that could end the Border War rivalry, as well. With Missouri beginning play in the SEC for the 2012-13 academic year, no future games between the Tigers and Jayhawks have been scheduled.
The stakes are high, and the consequences are even higher. If Kansas wins against Texas A&M on Wednesday, a Missouri win in Lawrence would give the Tigers and Jayhawks identical 12-3 conference records. Missouri, however, would own the tiebreaker, after beating Kansas twice.
Should Kansas win on Wednesday and on Saturday, the Jayhawks would hold a seemingly insurmountable two-game lead over Missouri with two games remaining.
If the teams' first meeting was any indicator, Saturday's game should be a battle. Missouri scored 11 points to end the game, overcoming an eight-point deficit with three minutes remaining to beat the Jayhawks 74-71 in Columbia.
The next game, however, isn't in Columbia. It's in Lawrence, at Allen Fieldhouse. Missouri hasn't defeated the Jayhawks there since Jan. 24, 1999.
Now, Missouri also has to rebound after a deflating loss against the Wildcats, who won by 78-68 Tuesday.
"We'll get back in practice, me and the rest of the team," Tigers guard Marcus Denmon said. "We'll get better, and we'll learn from this like all good teams do, and we'll get ready for the next one."
The "next one" is the biggest one.
PG Phil Pressey has dished out seven assists in each of Missouri's past three games, sure. However, Pressey has also combined for 11 turnovers in the Tigers' past two games, including six turnovers in the loss against Kansas State. Now, the Tigers travel to raucous Allen Fieldhouse in a de facto Big 12 championship game against the Kansas Jayhawks. Pressey needs to be calm, cool and collected -- but his recent trend suggests otherwise.
Missouri's loss to Kansas State marked its first home loss of the season. The Tigers were on a 16-game home winning streak, dating back March 9, 2010. Before Tuesday, the last loss at Mizzou Arena came against Kansas on March 5, 2010.
A win on Tuesday would have given Missouri its best record after 28 games in school history. The Tigers started 25-2 in 1989-1990 and in 1993-1994. The 25-3 record ties the mark set by both those teams.
Missouri does not intend to keep the lone big man in its starting lineup, Ricardo Ratliffe, from becoming a factor offensively.
But when Ratliffe managed just four points against Texas A&M on Feb. 18, the Tigers easily had enough firepower to overcome that deficiency.
Their guards, who have been terrific all season either driving the ball or spotting up for jumpers, took over scoring slack and bounced the Aggies 71-62. Missouri improved to 25-2, matching the 1989-90 squad for the best start in school history.
"They move the ball so well, and they're so disciplined offensively and so unselfish that they're difficult to guard," Texas A&M coach Billy Kennedy said.
Good shooting also factors into the Tigers' success. They made 56.1 percent of their attempts against Texas A&M, though they led by just five late in the game before getting a key defensive stop when backup forward Steve Moore drew a charge.
The accuracy against A&M marked the 14th time this season Missouri has shot 50 percent or better. It ranks third in Division I with a .503 percentage on the season.
The seniors at Missouri became the all-time winningest class in the history of the program with an 83-65 victory against Oklahoma State on Feb. 15. For G Marcus Denmon, G Kim English, F Steve Moore and G Jarrett Sutton, it was their 101st victory, surpassing the 100 wins recorded by the senior class of 1983, which featured Steve Stipanovich and Jon Sundvold. The current senior class, which also includes F Laurence Bowers, who is sitting out the season with a torn ACL, joined a downtrodden program in 2008. "I had a thought from day one that we were going to change the program around. That's what we did," Bowers told the Columbia Tribune.
Worth noting with a titanic clash against Kansas on tap Feb. 25 is Missouri has not captured a conference championship since 1994, when Norm Stewart guided the Tigers to a 14-0 finish in the Big Eight. Since then, Missouri's best finishes came in the Big 12 when it placed second in 1999 and third in 2009. Still, the Tigers do not appear to be looking ahead, particularly with Kansas State up next on Feb. 21. The Wildcats handed the Tigers their worst defeat, 75-59, on Jan. 7 in Manhattan. "If you don't do the day-to-day things," said Denmon, "then there is no big picture."
The Feb. 18 win was another reunion of sorts for first-year Missouri coach Frank Haith. Haith served as an assistant at A&M from 1992-95 under Tony Barone and also was the Aggies' associate head coach in 1996-97. Earlier this season, Haith coached a game at Texas, where he once served as an assistant under Rick Barnes.
Most victories recorded by Missouri in the Big 12, matching its all-time high set in 2008-09.
"I think we have a great coaching staff that's helpful and interjecting throughout our team, 'Hey, this is the next game, and that's what's important.' If you interview our guys, they all say the same thing. I think we've had great focus." -- Missouri G Mike Dixon.
