I’ve finally gotten to the point where I can talk about the football game between Missouri and Kansas. You know – the one that was played a month and a half ago.

Go ahead Kansas fans. Laugh it up.

I’m not much of a believer in blaming (or crediting) the outcome of a game on the officiating. I think that even though there are always bad calls, they generally balance themselves out over the course of time. Many games over the long history of the Border War have gone one way or the other because of the calls, but the series still stands where it stands. There is no use in re-hashing it all out now.

So, I’m going to resist the temptation to talk about the two distinct calls not made against Kansas that I think made such a huge difference in that game, even though they’ve hardly been talked about. I think that’s unfair, but you know what? Kansas won. They’ve beaten Missouri 54 times in football. Missouri has beaten them 54 times in football. Like I said, it all evens out.
I will say this about that game, though:

When I was watching it, I thought it must have been one of the greatest games in the history of the series. I still think that, regardless of who won. It was such a close game that any small factor could have provided the difference.

Before the game, someone I work with who shall remain nameless (her initials are SM) said that KU’s chances to win were greatly diminished with the injuries to Jake Sharp and Kerry Meier. I agreed. Little did she and I know, however, that those two would end up playing, and it was their gutty effort that made such a difference as well.

So now Missouri will have to wait for the basketball matchups to get their revenge. That’s usually not what they want to have to bank on against Kansas, who often is counting down the days until basketball season by the end of September.

I really think both of this season’s games should be interesting, though. It’s almost always a close matchup in Columbia, even last year when a .500 Mizzou team took the eventual national-champion Jayhawks to a six-point game. Before that match, the Tigers had won eight of the last 14 played between the two teams in Columbia.

And even though Missouri hasn’t had much recent success in Lawrence, they’ve still done well enough all-time to make their overall record against the Jayhawks better than any other team’s in the Big 12, both in the all-time records and in the records since the Big 12 was formed in 1996.
With Missouri’s improvement this year, they should fare a little better than usual against KU. I’m not going to say they will win at Allen Fieldhouse, but I’m not going to say they’ll lose either. It should be interesting.

Missouri’s 12-2 start is not only the best start they’ve had in the last ten years, but their ability to finally start playing well in head coach Mike Anderson’s system leads me to believe it can continue. Most of their eight newcomers this year have really looked comfortable stepping into the 40-Minutes-of-Hell, pressing style of basketball. I’m actually more excited about them than I am about Missouri’s experienced players.

Possibly the biggest difference-maker has been point guard Zaire Taylor. He has been the true point guard the Tigers have been missing all these years with failed experiments like Randy Pulley, early transfers like Wesley Stokes, and disciplinary trouble-makers like Ricky Clemons and Stefhon Hanna. Taylor has a sterling mark of 44 assists and only 14 turnovers this year. He leads the Big 12 with 3.14 assists for every turnover and has been instrumental in the team’s assist-to-turnover ratio of 1.58, a big improvement over last year’s 1.3.

Mizzou has also improved dramatically in rebounding this year. They are outrebounding their opponents by more than four rebounds per game this year, while last year they were outrebounded by more than three rebounds per game.

That swing of 7.2 rebounds per game and the improved ballhandling has helped Missouri earn a road win at Georgia, a blowout over California and a come-from-behind triumph over then No. 19 USC. The Tigers also came within four points of Xavier, who has been in the top 10 for much of the year. This Missouri team looks like it has a shot at going to the NCAA Tournament.

Of course, Kansas should go as well. They already have quality wins over Washington, Temple and Tennessee. Cole Aldrich is a legitimate big man who nearly averages a double-double. Rebounding like that and the ability to get to the basket for high-percentage shots rarely has a slump.

Sherron Collins is as quick as he ever has been, Brady Morningstar provides a very solid deep threat (48 percent from the three-point line), and the Morris twins and Tyshawn Taylor are fairly efficient offensively and still young. Kansas has got some good young talent as they always do.

The youth part of that equation is an unavoidable problem for the Jayhawks, though. Replacing a lineup full of NBA draftees doesn’t happen overnight, and this young KU team has shown that it doesn’t quite have that ability to finish yet, either at the end of the game or at the basket. They have been plagued by missed layups this year.

In other words, Kansas should be good this year, but it’s a rebuilding year for them based on the standard of success that they are used to. The gap has definitely narrowed considerably between the Jayhawks and Missouri this season.

So, if someone were to force me to make a prediction, I would probably just say that the Tigers will win in Columbia and Kansas will win in Lawrence. It probably won’t be quite that simple, however, as I think each team has a chance to win at the other’s venue.

It’s difficult to pull the trigger on a Mizzou win at Allen Fieldhouse, though, where KU has now won 33 straight. I admit I used to underestimate the Jayhawks’ home court advantage and say that they played well there simply because they played well everywhere.

This year’s results have forced me to reconsider. Kansas is of course undefeated at Phog Allen, but they’re a modest 1-2 at the Sprint Center in Kansas City, where they should play well considering the place is packed with KU fans and should provide a home court advantage.

For some reason it doesn’t, though. There’s just something about the Phog. I know it personally. I walked into Allen Fieldhouse once, a scary proposition for a Missouri fan. You can feel the Phog, and it’s not kind to opposing teams.

So I won’t say Mizzou will win there this year. I won’t say they’ll lose either. Both games at both venues should be good-old-fashioned throwdowns. Any college basketball fan should look forward to them, just as any college football fan should enjoy the Border War as well.