KANSAS APPEARED TO CONTROL THE GAME LATE, BUT MIZZOU CAME BACK. By Jason King

COLUMBIA, Mo. (ESPN.com) – Here are some quick thoughts from Missouri’s classic 74-71 victory over Kansas at Mizzou Arena on Saturday, just the third time these two have ever met while both in the top 10.

Overview: Marcus Denmon scored 29 points, nine of which came in the final 2:05 as No. 4 Missouri rallied from eight down and ended the game on an 11-0 run to win in stunning fashion against bitter rival Kansas.

KU led for most of the second half and the eight-point lead was the largest for either team the whole game, but Denmon swished a 3-pointer with 56 seconds remaining that gave his team a 72-71 cushion. The Jayhawks had three more chances to score but failed each time, as they turned it over four times in the final three minutes.

Tyshawn Taylor turned the ball over on one possession and was called for charging on another. A pair of free throws by Michael Dixon put Mizzou ahead 74-71 with 9.8 seconds left. Elijah Johnson attempted to tie the game at the buzzer, but his 3-point attempt from the top of the key didn’t hit the rim.

Missouri’s victory forces a three-way tie for first in the Big 12 standings, as Mizzou, Kansas and Baylor are all 8-2. Saturday’s game may have been the last between the two rivals in Columbia — the Tigers are leaving the Big 12 for the SEC after this season and Kansas has indicated it doesn’t have any interest in continuing the series.

Star of the game: Denmon is the obvious choice, but Kim English (18 points) and Dixon (15 points, 5 assists) both scored in double figures for Missouri. Thomas Robinson had 25 points and 13 boards for Kansas, while Taylor added 21.

What the win means for Missouri: The Tigers, who are still very much alive in the Big 12 title race, proved they can use speed, athleticism and superior outside shooting to beat a bigger, taller, longer team such as Kansas. There’s no reason to believe this team can’t make a significant run in March.

It also moves first-year coach Frank Haith one step closer to the national coach-of-the-year award. If the season ended today, he’d be the obvious choice. Oh, and there’s the end of that five-game losing streak to their hated rival to the west. That’s pretty big, too.

What the loss means for Kansas: The Jayhawks actually performed somewhat admirably considering the environment and the talent level of their opponent. It’s been obvious all season that this is clearly Bill Self’s worst KU squad. The Jayhawks have limitations and zero room for error. Taylor and Robinson played great but this program still needs a third person to step up on a consistent basis.

Up next: Missouri has a quick turnaround with a road game at Oklahoma on Monday (7 ET, ESPNU), while Kansas travels to Waco, Texas, on Wednesday to take on Baylor (7 ET, ESPN2).

THE HARLEM GLOBETROTTERS SPARKED THE RE-OPENING OF THE JFK. By Mass Appeal

KANSAS CITY, Kan. (MassAppealNews.com) – On Wednesday (Feb. 1), the Harlem Globetrotters made a rare appearance inside the American Heartland to help reopen the John F. Kennedy Recreation Center in Kansas City, Kan. Dozens of residents came out to lend their support.

The nationally-acclaimed hoopsters, known most for their on-court comedy, led a series of mini-clinics and basketball workshops for area youth. They also conducted a scrimmage to dazzle the masses. The Globetrotters will perform at the Sprint Center on Saturday night. They donated 100 tickets to KCK kids.

To purchase tickets, and for show-times, please *CLICK HERE*

NBC Action News sports anchor Jack Harry says Missouri has a better team than Kansas.

THOMAS ROBINSON DOMINATES AGAIN AS KANSAS PUMMELS OKLAHOMA. Associated Press

LAWRENCE, Kan. – Bill Self refused to let his team look past Oklahoma to a high-profile showdown with border rival Missouri, even though his own mind might have slipped that way a time or two. Given the way No. 8 Kansas had played lately, they weren’t always pleasant thoughts.

That certainly changed Wednesday night, though, when Thomas Robinson had 20 points and 17 rebounds to lead the Jayhawks in an 84-62 blowout of the Sooners. “I’m leaving out of here more excited about our team than before the game started,” Self said.

“I didn’t think the last couple of weeks we had been that good. We’re going to have to be better Saturday night than we were tonight, but we were pretty good.”

Pretty close to perfect, at least in the second half.

Tyshawn Taylor had 21 points, Jeff Withey added 15 and Travis Releford had 12 for Kansas (18-4, 8-1 Big 12), which responded to its first conference loss at Iowa State by outscoring turnover-prone Oklahoma 50-31 over the final 20 minutes.

“I don’t think it was difficult to focus on this game because of our last game,” Taylor said, adding: “Coach said in the locker room, ‘It’s something we can start focusing on now.’ ”

The Jayhawks haven’t lost to Oklahoma in the last nine meetings, and the last 10 at venerable Allen Fieldhouse, where they have won 19 straight overall. They have also gone 225 games without consecutive defeats, the longest streak in the nation. Duke is next at 110 games.

“They’re a terrific ball club. Bill does a great job,” said Oklahoma coach Lon Kruger, who is no stranger to the Jayhawks from his days as a player and coach at Kansas State. “You can’t give them that opportunity to get up and get going like they did. They finished it pretty early in the second half.”

Romero Osby scored 19 points, Steven Pledger had 17 and Andrew Fitzgerald finished with 14 for the Sooners (13-8, 3-6), who were within 34-31 at halftime before Kansas hit its stride.

The game nearly got out of hand much earlier, when Elijah Johnson hit consecutive 3-pointers and Taylor — after some encouragement from Self — carved into the lane for an acrobatic layup.

Robinson’s putback moments later gave the Jayhawks a 30-19 lead.

“Coach just told me that I’m not playing like the player I’m capable of being,” Robinson said. “He’s been stressing all week that I haven’t been aggressive.”

Kruger wisely called for a timeout, and his Sooners embarked on 12-2 run.

Cameron Clark’s basket started it and Pledger added a deep 3-pointer from the wing. The hot-shooting Pledger, who had 30 points in a win over Kansas State last weekend, capped the spurt with another 3-pointer with 15 seconds left in the half, drawing the Sooners within 32-31.

Taylor’s two foul shots just before the buzzer restored the three-point cushion.

It turned out to be the closest Oklahoma got.

“I thought we battled pretty well for a half,” Kruger said. “Then we opened the second half not how we wanted to, or not how we needed to, for sure.”

Withey, who played just 8 minutes in the first half due to foul trouble, scored the first basket of the second half, sending the Jayhawks on a 12-2 run that resulted in a 44-33 lead.

Robinson added an impressive dunk off a feed from Taylor, who finished with six assists, and Kansas kept drawing away. Taylor’s deep 3 from the wing as the shot clock wound down pushed the lead to 59-39 with 11:41 left in the game.

The lead reached 30 when Withey made a nice post move on C.J. Washington and drew a foul with 4:06 left. The 7-footer, an 86 percent free throw shooter, made both for an 80-49 lead.

“We took a lot of 3-pointers in the first half, kind of playing into their hands, how they wanted to play,” Taylor said. “I think we got a lot of fast-break points and in the paint just because of our defensive pressure, getting fast breaks.”

Self substituted liberally after that, allowing his starters to bask in the adoration of another sellout crowd and rest up before the first installment this season of the Border War.

The Jayhawks had been wary not to look ahead to their game against Missouri (20-2, 7-2), who had a couple of extra days to prepare after beating Texas on Monday night. They can now turn their full attention to one of the biggest regular-season matchups ever between the teams.

“If we’re tuned in defensively and we’re rebounding the ball, I think we can beat anybody, and I think that’s going to be our focus these next couple weekends, guarding and rebounding the ball,” Taylor said. “We have to win these games. We have to. They’re important.”

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ROYCE WHITE DELIVERED BIG SHOT LATE AS IOWA STATE BEATS K-STATE. Associated Press

AMES, Iowa – Royce White hit the game-winning jumper with 1.8 seconds left as Iowa State rallied from a 14-point deficit to beat Kansas State 72-70 on Tuesday night. White finished with 22 points and Chris Allen had 15 for the Cyclones (16-6, 6-3 Big 12), who’ve won four of their last five.

Iowa State’s Chris Babb tied the game at 70 with a free throw with 49 seconds left. The Cyclones then corralled a loose ball to gain possession with the shot clock off, and White drove to the baseline and floated in the deciding bucket from about 8 feet.

The Cyclones knocked the ball out of the hands of Kansas State’s Will Spradlin at the buzzer.

Thomas Gipson led the Wildcats (15-6, 4-5) with 13 points.

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MICHAEL DIXON COMES UP BIG DOWN THE STRETCH AS MIZZOU ESCAPES. Associated Press

AUSTIN, Texas – Michael Dixon’s flagrant foul down the stretch nearly cost his team the game. About 40 seconds later, he won it. Dixon’s layup with 31 seconds left gave No. 4 Missouri the lead and Marcus Denmon’s rebound after a final miss by Texas’ Myck Kabongo sealed a tough 67-66 victory for the Tigers on Monday night.

Texas rallied from 13 down to take the lead on J’Covan Brown’s jumper with 56 seconds left. The Tigers had held a three-point lead when Dixon, dribbling away time at midcourt, was whistled for a flagrant when his elbow connected with Julien Lewis’ head. Lewis’ free throws and Brown’s basket had Texas in position for its biggest win of the season.

Then Dixon made up for his blunder with a high, floating bank shot layup over Jaylen Bond that put the Tigers back on top to stay. “In the heat of battle things happen,” Dixon said. “You just have to look at the next play.” Dixon’s layup capped a sparkling game. He was 9 of 10 shooting in a matchup against Brown, dished out four assists and consistently hit the big shots for the Tigers (20-2, 7-2 Big 12) all night.

Missouri continues its impressive season under first-year head coach Frank Haith, who was a Texas assistant under Longhorns coach Rick Barnes from 2002-04 before taking over the University of Miami program.

Haith was with Barnes during a three-year stretch that ranks among the best in school history. The Longhorns advanced to the round of 16 twice and made the Final Four in 2003. The Texas crowd gave him a welcome round of applause when he was introduced before the game.

“It was a great win for us,” Haith said of his homecoming. “I felt we showed toughness down the stretch.” For Texas, it was another crushing loss for a team in desperate search of a big win. The Longhorns (13-9, 3-6) are 0-7 in games decided by six points or fewer and dropped their fifth loss in six games, all to ranked teams, two of them to Missouri.

After the game, Barnes and Kabongo were left complaining that a foul wasn’t called on the Tigers’ Matt Pressey on the final play. Pressey appeared to catch Kabongo’s non-shooting left arm when he went up for the final shot on the baseline. Kabongo short-armed the shot, which then fell to Denmon.

“He did get fouled,” Barnes said. “(But) what we needed was to get a stop on the other end and we didn’t get it. … It’s tough when you’re trying to get over the hump and it seems plays like that don’t go your way.” Brown scored 20 for Texas and the Longhorns considered working the ball to him for the final shot. But Missouri’s tough zone defense kept the ball on the perimeter and it fell to Kabongo for the final play.

“We did not want (Brown) to shoot it,” Missouri guard Kim English said. “He was guarded well on that play.” Lewis scored 12 and Kabongo finished with 10 for the Longhorns. Texas outrebounded Missouri 38-26, but a ragged offense didn’t have an assist on offense in the first half and the Longhorns were just 2 of 12 on 3-pointers.

Missouri seemed to have the game in control when it opened the second half with a flurry. Dixon was the catalyst, making three straight baskets over Brown and English made a 3-pointer to push the Tigers’ lead to 36-29. “I basically gave up half his points,” Brown said of Dixon.” I have to go out there and be a better defender than I was today.”

Brown, who has struggled badly shooting at home, started finding his touch and kept Mizzou from pulling away. Brown and Phil Pressey matched each other’s 3s and Brown added a driving layup and a free throw cut the Tigers’ lead to 46-43 with just under 11 minutes to play.

The Longhorns trailed 50-48 with a chance tie or take the lead when Phil Pressey picked the ball from Kabongo, who had opted not to shoot an open 3-pointer and then was whistled for a flagrant foul. Pressey made both free throws.

Missouri had another chance to slam the door on Texas but couldn’t. Ricardo Ratliffe made a tough layup, then finished a three-point play after a steal by English. A 3-pointer by English with 4:43 to play put the Tigers ahead 63-53 before Texas rallied again behind Brown and Kabongo.

“In the timeouts, we stressed to our guys it was ‘win time,’” Haith said. “We were going to win the game.”

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Rap wannabes from the University of Missouri make fun of the Kansas Jayhawks in “We Are Mizzou.”

KANSAS AND MISSOURI BOTH DROP IN THE POLLS AFTER VERY TOUGH LOSSES. By ESPN.com

COLUMBIA, Mo. – Border rivals Missouri and Kansas met the same fate Monday in the ESPN/USA Today coaches’ poll, ceding ground after losses to unranked Big 12 opponents. But they didn’t fall much. Kentucky (21-1) remained a unanimous No. 1 for the second straight week, receiving all 31 votes ahead of Syracuse, Ohio State, Missouri and Duke.

The Wildcats were also a runaway No. 1 in The Associated Press poll, drawing 63 votes from a 65-member media panel. Missouri (19-2) was handed its first loss of the season Wednesday by Oklahoma State, 79-72, as the Cowboys shot a staggering 59 percent from the field in Stillwater.

Kansas, which dropped three places to No. 8, likewise failed to contain a hot-handed Iowa State team that shot 41.2 percent from beyond the 3-point line Saturday in Ames. The Jayhawks (17-4) lost 72-64. Missouri and Kansas get a chance to separate themselves further on Saturday when they play at Columbia (ESPN, 9 p.m. ET). The Tigers play at Texas on Monday (ESPN, 9 p.m. ET).

Syracuse (22-1) jumped Ohio State (19-3) for the No. 2 spot despite a controversial win over West Virginia in which an apparent goaltending play that would have tied the game late was not called. The Orange also beat Cincinnati last week.

Murray State, the only undefeated team left in Division I at 21-0, remained No. 9. The Racers came in behind Baylor (19-2) and North Carolina (18-3), who were tied for sixth. Michigan State (17-4) followed in 10th. Georgetown, which also lost to an unranked team in Pittsburgh, dropped four spots to No. 14. The Hoyas (16-4) followed Florida (17-4), Creighton (20-2) and UNLV (20-3), in 13th.

Marquette (18-4) advanced three places to No. 15 and was followed by Saint Mary’s (21-2), San Diego State (18-3), Virginia (17-3) and Mississippi State (17-5). Indiana and Wisconsin, both 17-5, were tied for 20th. Michigan (16-6), Harvard (18-2), Florida State (14-6) and Louisville (17-5) rounded out the Top 25.

Connecticut (14-6), previously ranked 19th, fell out after its third straight loss, a 50-48 setback to Notre Dame.

THE HATRED BETWEEN KANSAS AND MISSOURI HITS CRITICAL MASS. By Sam Mellinger

KANSAS CITY (KansasCity.com) – Watching Kansas City’s oldest brand of vitriol from seats close enough to hear the curse words will cost you about $2,000. Normally, that’s insane. Normally, nothing short of a severe allergy to money would justify the cost, but normally, you cannot watch symphonic hatred at its historical peak.

You’ve never seen anything like what you’re about to see between Kansas and Missouri. Nobody has seen anything like this, at least not since the days when disputes got settled with guns and torches.

Whatever you think is the most intense season in the 106-year history of Border War basketball games — for most, it’s 1990 — is about to be lapped by an unrepeatable set of circumstances that will forever help frame Kansas City’s greatest rivalry when KU plays at Mizzou on Saturday.

Not even losses by both teams in the past few days can change that. “It is for Missouri,” says Jon Sundvold, whose No. 20 hangs at Mizzou Arena. “It certainly is from KU’s standpoint,” says Max Falkenstein, who broadcast more than 1,750 Kansas basketball games.

We live in a time of constant hyperbole and hype, particularly in sports, when the Game of the Century seems to happen at least once a year and it is bull, almost without exception.

Here, then, is the exception:

The Border War, with all its mutual hatred, featuring two of the best teams in the country playing for keeps.

To read this article in its entirety, please visit KansasCity.com

ROYCE WHITE COMES UP BIG DOWN THE STRETCH AS IOWA STATE ROLLS. Associated Press

AMES, Iowa – Royce White has been so bad from the free throw line lately that his struggles have literally turned into nightmares. A few hours after waking up from a dream in which he couldn’t hit anything from the line, White sank the two biggest freebies of his career to give Iowa State a landmark win for coach Fred Hoiberg.

White had 18 points and nine rebounds as the Cyclones upset fifth-ranked Kansas 72-64 on Saturday, snapping the Jayhawks’ winning streak at 10 games. White, the versatile big man who entered shooting an abysmal 39 percent from the line in Big 12 games, hit a pair that rattled in to put Iowa State up 64-59 with 1:47 left.

Kansas then threw the ball away and Chris Babb drained a backbreaking 3 to give the Cyclones an eight-point lead with 55.6 seconds left. “I woke up this morning dreaming about missing free throws. So I was in the gym this morning and shot free throws trying to get it right,” White said. “Teammates keep encouraging me and telling me, ‘You can make free throws.’”

Tyshawn Taylor led five players in double figures with 16 points and 10 assists for Kansas (17-4, 7-1 Big 12), which hadn’t lost since Dec. 19 against Davidson. Big 12 player of the year favorite Thomas Robinson had 13 points, but he committed five turnovers and the Jayhawks were outrebounded 36-23.

“I thought we got stops, but I didn’t think we cleaned up. How many times did they miss a shot and the ball go off of us and us not secure or whatever?” Kansas coach Bill Self said. “Obviously, we didn’t do a good last 3 minutes defensively at all.”

Melvin Ejim had 15 points and Scott Christopherson added 14 for the Cyclones (15-6, 5-3), who had lost 13 straight to Kansas since their last victory in 2005. Iowa State students celebrated the program’s biggest win in years — and first over Kansas at home since 2004 — by storming the floor.

“It was a great win for our program. But like I told our guys, you know, you’ve got to expect to win your home games,” Hoiberg said. “I told the guys to enjoy it and get refocused.” This was Kansas’ toughest true road test of the year so far — and it ended with the Jayhawks’ first true road loss of the season.

But Kansas caught the Cyclones napping to start the second half and took its biggest lead to that point, 45-39, thanks to an 11-0 run. Big man Anthony Booker brought Iowa State back, sinking a rare 3-pointer to put the Cyclones ahead 50-49 with 12:13 left.

Neither team could get much going over the next 6 minutes, but Tyrus McGee’s three-point play gave Iowa State a 56-53 lead with just over 6 minutes left. Robinson then blew an open dunk and White hit two layups — one a reverse he spun off the glass — to make it 60-55 Iowa State with 3:42 left.

“This was our first true road game with a good crowd, a good atmosphere. So, we’re going to be seeing that from now on,” Taylor said. “Our emphasis this week in practice is just going to be taking care of the ball and just rebound and rebound. You can’t lose on the boards like that.”

Iowa State fed off the energy of its second sellout crowd of the year and jumped on the Jayhawks early. Booker drilled a 3 and Babb followed with a steal and layup that put Iowa State ahead 19-11, prompting Self to call timeout.

Kansas finally took a 31-29 lead on an impressive scoop through traffic from Taylor with 3:31 left before the break. Iowa State rallied to grab the halftime advantage, 37-33, despite committing 13 turnovers in the first 20 minutes.

The Cyclones led in part because of their defense on Robinson. He was 1-of-6 shooting in the first half and traveled three times trying to free himself up for shots in the paint. “Just not playing my game. Speeding up the game and not taking my time. I’m just not playing the same right now,” Robinson said.

Jeff Withey, Elijah Johnson and Travis Releford each scored 10 points for Kansas. Kansas certainly knew what Iowa State was capable of after the Cyclones threw a scare into the Jayhawks in Lawrence two weeks ago.

Iowa State led at halftime Jan. 14 and pushed its lead to as many as 12 points before Kansas stormed back for an 82-73 win. The Cyclones might have been able to pull off that upset had they shot better than 2 of 15 from 3-point range in the second half.

Iowa State didn’t let the opportunity pass by this time around — and it now has a marquee win that will look great on its resume come March. “It definitely feels good to beat them. We felt like we should have won the first time,” said White, who finished 6 of 11 from the line. “We knew that it was basically a must-win for us.”

MIZZOU BEATS UP TEXAS TECH

COLUMBIA, Mo. – It was far from a triumphant homecoming for No. 2 Missouri. Still, coach Frank Haith concentrated on the bottom line after a shaky 63-50 victory over Texas Tech on Saturday that didn’t quite flush away all the sour taste from an upset loss at Oklahoma State three days earlier.

Against a team that’s winless in the Big 12, Missouri needed a shutdown finish. “We’re a good shooting ballclub, we just didn’t make shots,” Haith said. “We had a lot of great looks. Does that make the game look ugly? But, we won.”

Kim English scored 19 points in the first half, Marcus Denmon had 13 after the break and Phil Pressey matched his career best with 12 assists, giving Missouri just enough to avoid another stumble.

Texas Tech concentrated on shutting down Ricardo Ratliffe, Missouri’s lone inside threat who was coming off a pair of big games in which he totaled 52 points and 20 rebounds. Ratliffe was held to eight points and four rebounds and Missouri’s four-guard attack didn’t make the Red Raiders pay enough, shooting 39 percent.

“It was kind of like a great test,” English said. “If you can’t execute, you still have to get stops.” In the second half, Missouri went more than 7 minutes between baskets. Denmon helped compensate by going 10 for 10 from the free throw line.

“I think Texas Tech did a good job inside and I think if we made shots in the first half it would seem like we played a little bit better,” Denmon said. “But good teams find a way to win, and that’s what we did.”

KANSAS STATE FALLS TO OKLAHOMA

MANHATTAN, Kan. – Every once in a while, Lon Kruger has a senior moment. The Oklahoma coach will be sitting in film study, or perhaps in practice, and draw on his experience playing and coaching at Kansas State to make a point. Only he’ll talk about his days in the Big 8, and his players will gently remind him that, no, it’s the Big 12 these days.

Yes, Kruger is back in the conference he once called home. On Saturday night, he walked out of the building he once called home with a victory. Steven Pledger scored 30 points and the Sooners weathered a second-half charge by the 22nd-ranked Wildcats — and some tense moments down the stretch — for a confidence-building 63-60 win.

“Pales by comparison to what it means to the players,” Kruger said of his first game at Bramlage Coliseum since 1990, when he led the Wildcats in his final game before departing for the same job at Florida. “They’re not aware where I went to school.”

Actually, Lon, they are.

“This is where he rocked out on the court,” Pledger said, “so this is great.” The Sooners squandered a 10-point second-half advantage but still led 59-56 on a pair of free throws by Pledger with 1:07 left, setting up a tense final flurry by both teams.

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