Tuesday, February 10, 2009
COLUMBIA, Mo. — We’ve seen this before.
We’ve seen Missouri’s home floor spill over with kids in yellow T-shirts.
We’ve seen Kansas’ players walk slowly off the floor, dazed in defeat.
And we’ve felt this before too.
We’ve felt that helpless feeling, that feeling of overwhelming numbness that accompanies a loss to your biggest rival.
It was all there on Monday night on the floor of Mizzou Arena. It all came out in a blur of scratches and sweat and those damn yellow T-shirts.
And Bill Self has felt this before too. He’s felt the pain of squandered opportunities and losses in Columbia.
“It’s one that we had in our grasp, and let slip away,” Self said, minutes after Missouri handed Kansas a 62-60 punch to the gut.
Self was rather composed after this one. He’d watched his team cough up an 11-point lead in the final eight minutes of the second half, and you could tell the loss hurt.
And you know it was the kind of hurt that you can only feel when you watch your rival celebrate.
Still, Self mustered a smile and gave an honest assessment.
Sometimes other teams make plays. And, of course, it hurts when you turn the ball over 27 times.
“We just didn’t hold our composure,” said Cole Aldrich, who finished with eight points and 15 rebounds.
Now you can add this game to the annals. A memory that Missouri will relish, and a feeling that Kansas will try to forget.
And that’s really what the story was about on Monday night.
Thousands packed Mizzou Arena to see if Kansas and Missouri could resurrect a buried basketball rivalry. To see if Missouri was for real. To see if the Tigers could make this rivalry — well — an actual rivalry again.
That was the story of this night. All those people in those damn yellow T-shirts. It all added up. Kansas and Missouri were both ranked for the first time since 2003. And by some twist of the divine, they couldn’t be any closer. Kansas was ranked 16th, Missouri was 17th.
This used to happen all the time, of course. We used to have a lot of these colossal midseason battles. Remember the improbable 1989-90 season, when Kansas and Missouri matched up twice as the top two teams in America? Of course, Missouri won both of those games.
And remember the epic border clash in 1997, when Kansas had the nation’s best team? That Kansas team walked into the old Hearnes Center 22-0. 50 minutes later, Roy Williams’ most talented team walked out beaten, taken out in a double-overtime classic.
And every year, it seemed like the same thing. Another Kansas team would enter the old Hearnes Center and get knocked out by an inferior Missouri team. Can you believe that from 1994 to 2001, Kansas lost in Columbia six times?
You measured those games in elbows and scratches and expletives that rained down from the student sections.
Those old games were dirty, grimy, slugfests — and they were beautiful.
A little of that old magic returned on Monday night. The Jayhawks and Tigers exchanged body blows and you could feel the bitterness, you could feel the passion.
And then when all those kids in their damn yellow T-shirts finally cleared off the floor, and Mizzou Arena was nearly empty, the scoreboard still read: Missouri 62, Kansas 60.
And that old feeling returned. We’ve felt it before. But it still hurts.
“It couldn’t have been scripted better for us,” Self said, before the long bus ride back to Lawrence, “if we had finished the game like I thought we should have.”
Unlicensed: A T-Shirt Tale
Meet Larry Sinks, the man behind JoeCollege.com and its controversial T-shirts.
Kirk Hinrich remains a Jayhawk legend
After shaking hands with Obama, Hinrich prepares to retire his jersey at ...
Taylor's late-game errors cost Kansas at Missouri
The Missouri Tigers used one of the most raucous environments in Mizzou ...
University to replace ‘Muck Fizzou’ slogan
Last year, ESPN announced that it would not show KU students wearing ...
Davis-less Jayhawks drop third straight, 70-65
Davis re-injured in pregame festivities as Jayhawks fall to rival Tigers.
One more trip to Columbia for an ...
With first place in the Big 12 on the line, Kansas braces ...
Gill eager for Border Showdown
Even in his first year at Kansas, coach Turner Gill understands the ...
Nelson: Rivalry will be missed
Missouri's decision to leave the Big 12 has unfortunate effects on the ...
Tough week concludes with loss against Missouri
Junior forward Carolyn Davis fell down in the t-shirt toss, summing up ...
Buser: Rivalry builds school spirit
Illinois senior reflects on four years of participation in Border Showdown
Vernon: This season's memories will last a ...
The men’s basketball team’s Cinderella season is enough reason to celebrate.
Basketball prepares for Border Showdown
The rivalry game marks the beginning of the toughest stretch of the ...
Morning Brew: MU loss not worst feeling ...
Despite the heartbreak of Monday's loss, Kansas' worst stretch under Bill Self ...
Goble: 'Ridiculous' is the only word to ...
Nothing made sense in the second half Saturday, but it was certainly ...
Border Showdown's roots run deep
Rivalry linked to Civil War-era conflicts.
Missouri natives feel rivalry’s heat
For some KU students, the Border Showdown hits closer to home
Carpenter: Kansas-Missouri rivalry will eventually continue
After both Kansas and Missouri cool off and reconsider things, they'll want ...
No Craziness in Columbia
The Tigers' defense caused poor shooting and execution from the Jayhawks. They ...
Border rivalry renamed ... again
He’ll always be a Jayhawk
Former head football coach Don Fambrough will never lose his love for ...
Kansas spirit never wanes
Former Kansas coach Don Fambrough remains a staple in football program despite ...
Hype builds as Border Showdown approaches
Men's basketball hopes for different outcome in the highly anticipated game against ...
A look inside the Border Showdown
The Kansas-Missouri rivalry couldn’t be any bigger as the Jayhawks play the ...
Jayhawks narrowly defeat Tigers 76-70
Sloppy play plagued the Jayhawks throughout the game, but the team was ...
Brew: Border War shouldn't end
Losing the Border War would only hurt the fans.
Soccer team to face Mizzou Friday
Soccer team to face Mizzou Friday
Vernon: Sherron, Jayhawks keep their cool
If you felt nervous during Friday's game against North Carolina State, know ...
Respect is the real victory of the ...
Missouri beat Kansas 74-71 Saturday in an intense rivalry game
Foul trouble spells Tigers' defeat
Three leading Missouri scorers foul out in Monday night's game, aiding a ...
Vernon: Border War rivalry lives up to ...
In Kansas and Missouri's game Saturday night, the two schools showed just ...
Erickson: Remind me: Which state are we ...
Orange out propels team to sweet victory
Kansas saw its fifth consecutive victory over Missouri, 90-71 Monday night. Coach ...
And so it ends
In the final Border Showdown, Kansas overcame a 19-point deficit and defeated ...
Kansas tramples Missouri in Border Showdown
No. 2 Kansas rolled over the Missouri Tigers in commanding fashion, 84-65.
Football assistant coaches reminisce on ties to ...
Clint Bowen, special teams coordinator and defensive backs coach, thinks Missouri messed ...
KU-MU rivalry still ignites excitement
KU has won 11 of the last 14 match ups, but players ...
Jayhawks skin Tigers, 84-65
Kansas players remember rivalry fondly after 19-point victory.
Petterson: Fambrough remembered as irreplaceable fan
Former coach Don Fambrough should be remembered for his loyalty to the ...
Faith, Fellowship and Football
Stuckey leads no matter the path.
Joseph: Final chance for Border Showdown
Kansas and Mizzou battling for the Big 12 Championship would be a ...
From left: Kimberlee Hinkle, Libby Johnson and Hannah ...
1 comment
Kansas Jayhawk fans hold aloft a reproduction of ...
2 comments
Erin Saupe, a Ph.D. student from St. Cloud, ...
1 comment
0 comments
Armed robbers continue to threaten.
3 comments
Lecture from Greg Mortenson, co-author of New York ...
0 comments
Comments
Use the comment form below to begin a discussion about this content.
Sign in to comment
Or login with:
OpenID