The Missouri Men’s Basketball team travelled to Kansas City, Mo. to face off in the 272 iteration of the Border Showdown against the No. 21 Kansas Jayhawks.
Last year, the Tigers pulled off one of the biggest upsets in program history when they defeated the then No. 1 Jayhawks at home in Mizzou Arena 76-67. They were led by a 29-point performance from guard Tamar Bates and another 17 from Mark Mitchell. It was the first time the Tigers had beaten Kansas since they moved to the SEC and their first time beating a No. 1 ranked opponent since 1997.
The Tigers were playing their first game since falling to Notre Dame in a close 76-71 game which gave them their first loss of the season. Mitchell put up 26 points in the loss to the Fighting Irish, leading the Tigers in scoring this season while averaging over 18 points per game. He is also one of two starters returning from last year’s squad.
When the Tigers upset the Jayhawks last season a key part of the team’s success was their physicality and defensive prowess. In order to beat Kansas this year, who was led by the No. 1 ranked prospect in the upcoming NBA draft, Darryn Peterson, they needed to match the energy they brought last season. In that game last season, Anthony Robinson II had five steals on the day and was a key reason the Tigers were able to pull off the upset.
The big question heading into the game was concerning the health of Peterson, who had missed the last seven games for the Jayhawks after suffering a Hamstring injury against North Carolina early in the season. The top prospect was listed as questionable all week leading up to the game, but was confirmed to play just an hour and a half before tipoff. His return gave Kansas fans a lot to talk about as they poured into T-Mobile Center, as more than 70% of the stands were a wave blue and red.
As the game began, immediately following the tipoff, it was evident the two storied rival schools were set to go to battle on the hardwood once more.
Winning the tipoff, Kansas and Peterson opened the scoring after cashing in a contested three early on. His three was followed up by a massive rejection from Flory Bidunga, the only returning player from the Jayhawks matchup against the Tigers last season, and capped off with a transition slam from Melvin Council Jr.
Kansas got out to an early lead but Missouri wouldn’t go away, as the Tiger kept it competitive in back-and-forth fashion throughout the first half. Annor Boateng had an emphatic putback dunk, after he replaced Sebastian Mack to make his first start of the season.
Both teams kept the pressure on each other and were tied 21-21 with five minutes to go in the first half. Then Mitchell showed out in transition with a posterizing dunk on Paul Mbiya to give the Tigers a 23-21 lead. Kansas responded right back, though, with Bidunga giving Mitchell a taste of his own medicine on the other end of the court soon after.
As the half dwindled to a close, tensions continued to rise between the two rival teams, culminating in a double technical foul call on Robinson II and Kansas’ Jamari McDowell. Kansas’ Tre White capped off the half with a transition buzzer-beating three which sent T-Mobile Center into a frenzy and gave the Jayhawks a 33-25 lead heading into the second half.
The Jayhawks never looked back as they came into the second half and quickly extended their lead to 18. The Tigers struggled to get things going in the second half, shooting under 30% from the field and 13% from three point range combined with 50% shooting from the free throw line with 15 minutes left in the game. The Tigers’ struggles continued and Kasas continued to pour it on, finishing the game with a blowout 80-60 win for the Jayhawks.
Mitchell finished the game leading all scorers with 21 points and Peterson finished with 17 points in his return. The Tigers’ struggles at the free throw line this season continue to be a point of emphasis, as they made just 52% of their shots from the stripe. Missouri shot an unusual 34% from the field, far from their average of 54.4% this season, which was good enough to rank second in the nation coming into the game.
Following their second-straight loss, the Tigers will look to bounce back when they face Alabama State, Thursday Dec. 11 at home.