Judging by the number of media people here, this KU-MU game is large. For the first time in a while, I think the Tigers believe they can come to Lawrence and beat Kansas. I think this is a confident Missouri team and that the Tigers get that air of swagger from their coach, Mike Anderson. I expect Mizzou to play tough today, but I think the atmosphere will definitely help Kansas.
It’s going to be a big-time game, though. Hard to believe that if KU wins today, the Jayhawks will have put themselves in prime position to win a fifth straight Big 12 championship.
Some of us were talking about how there were four negative callers to Bill Self’s radio show this past week. Self wasn’t there; he was replaced by assistant Joe Dooley. But four negative calls? Can you imagine? A couple of callers said they were disappointed that KU gave back most of its 20-point second-half lead at Oklahoma. Another wondered whether the Jayhawks ever practiced against full-court pressure.
It made me think that some of these Kansas fans deserve a .500 season. How would they handle finishing in the middle of the pack in the Big 12 and perhaps not even getting an NCAA bid?
Some other matters:
Wichita State has not earned my trust when the Shockers play on the road. Southern Illinois limped toward the finish line this season, but WSU couldn’t win at Carbondale, where the Shocks haven’t won since 1998. Now they have to compete in Thursday’s play-in round of the Valley tournament, taking on Missouri State in St. Louis. If WSU wins that one, it gets No. 2 seed Creighton, which probably needs just one win in the tournament to lock up an NCAA Tournament at-large bid.
It looks like it will be another short St. Louis stay for Wichita State, which becomes a different team when it strays outside of Koch Arena. Too bad. The Shockers have made strides this season, but the program won’t arrive until this team figures out a way to win games away from home.
I think Tuesday night’s Kansas State-Oklahoma State game could be for a bid to the NCAA Tournament. K-State has its hands full; OSU is playing well and has a much higher RPI than the Wildcats. I don’t think the Cats get in unless they beat Oklahoma State.
The eight boys teams in the Derby sub-state have a combined record of 109-51. The eight boys teams in the Wichita Northwest sub-state have a combined record of 65-95. That’s ridiculous. I’ll be writing more about this subject in the newspaper this week with comments from Kansas State High School Activities Association director Gary Musselman. There are many other examples of injustice in sub-state pairings, but this is the most glaring.
One Comment
Bob, way to steal the KSU/OSU play-in game line from other reporters. Think that was mentioned on Sports Talk what 3 weeks ago????
KU destroyed Mizzou and have earned a ticket to play the first two rounds in KC. KU should be a 3 seed, but wouldn’t be surprised if they get a 2 or even if a 1 seed if they win the Big 12 Tourny.