Big 12 Weekend Rewind/Border War

What did we learn:

• That Missouri is really, really bad on the road and really, really good at home.
• Not exactly new information, but I was shocked the Tigers were unable to get a victory at Stillwater against a very average Oklahoma State team. Even more surprising, just as it were in Austin, the Tigers never once had the lead against the Cowboys. Let me sum that up for you: MISSOURI TRAILED IN ALL 80 MINUTES IT PLAYED ON THE ROAD TRIP. 
• On the flip side, the Tigers were once again very impressive in its 89-73 payback victory over Colorado on Saturday. I saw posted on espn.com's college basketball weekend recap, something to the effect of, "At what point do the Tigers' road woes become concerning to fans?" In my opinion it is already at that point. You can understand the losses to Texas and Texas A&M, and I'll even give them Colorado, but losing to Oklahoma State is inexcusable. It won't get any easier this week for the Tigers with a Big Monday date in Lawrence.
•   Baylor might be starting to fulfill its pre-season hype. 
• There is a reason the Bears were picked preseason top 15 and a contender to win the Big 12.  It's a team loaded with size, length, and most importantly, talent. All of that was on full display Saturday in College Station when the Bears escaped with a victory over the Texas A&M Aggies. Baylor got out to a big lead early and although it was taken to overtime, was able to hang on to a precious conference road victory. Perry Jones was a man amongst boys on the offensive side of the court, scoring 27 points. Showing that when the Bears get him involved and don't jack up ill-advised shots, (talking to you Lacedarius Dunn) then this can be a dangerous team, because there is simply no answer for him inside. He is a match-up problem for any defender, due to his ability to score with his back to the basket and his ability to face-up and knock down 15 foot jump-shots if you force away from the basket. 

Border War Preview:


My quick thoughts to this matchup:

• The Tigers simply have no answer for the Morris Twins inside. Ricardo Ratliffe is very good inside, but he can't guard both Morris Twins and he's going to have his hands full with the better one, Marcus. 
• The Tigers are playing god-awful on the road this season and Allen Fieldhouse has never been kind to them. It has been 11 years since the Tigers last won there and no one on the current Missouri roster has come within single-digits of Kansas in Allen Fieldhouse. 
• If Missouri wants to win it can't come out shooting poorly. The common ingredient in the last several match ups between these two at Allen Fieldhouse has been Kansas starting hot and Missouri starting, well, not. Seems obvious, but it is crucial that the Tigers get off to a good start shooting the basketball. The Phog can begin to wear on you mentally if you start off the game ice cold. 

Breakdown and Prediction:
If the Tigers want to win this game it must get Ricardo Ratliffe involved early and often. Good things tend to happen when the big-fellow is involved and it could go a long way in containing Marcus Morris on the offensive end if he has to work hard defensively.

Secondly, Missouri HAS to get Marcus Denmon involved early. He is the Tigers' most gifted scorer and they are a tough team to beat when he is playing well. Mike Anderson looked like he had this sentiment in Colorado game, as many offensive sets looked to be predicated on getting Denmon the ball, off lots of screens and curls to the basket. Anderson would be wise to use this same game-plan against the Jayhawks and hope that Denmon can deliver, because if not, it could be a long night.

The last thing I'm very interested to see is how Missouri employs its up-tempo style in this game. Missouri's motto is "The Fastest 40 Minutes in Basketball," however this game does not seem to phase the Jayhawks, especially in Allen Fieldhouse. Kansas plays a fairly up-tempo style themselves and has no problem going up and down the court all night and have never seemed to be too effected by the defensive pressure. So, does Mike Anderson try and mix up the game-plan a little and apply the full-court pressure, but switch back into zone occasionally? It will be interesting to see, but honestly I don't see that happening.

This game could be more interesting with the injury of star freshman guard, Josh Selby, who will sit out this game for the Jayhawks. However, Kansas is still very deep and has shooters all over the court against a Missouri team that just doesn't play great half-court defense. I think Kansas will get the Morris twins involved, especially Marcus, early on and if Missouri doesn't come out hot it will be a long night. However, if the Tigers do come out and shoot well early on, get Ratliffe and Denmon involved, and are able to apply effective pressure, then they have a real shot in this game. I don't see them doing all of the above, which is necessary to win. Kansas wins 86-72.