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Not much was made of Missouri before the college basketball season this winter. The Tigers weren’t ranked anywhere. In fact, they’re still not ranked after an 8-1 start.
They should be.
The Tigers, disorganized as they were last year, look like a different team with the improved play of DeMarre Carroll and Leo Lyons. Carroll, a Vanderbilt transfer, is averaging 18 points and 7.3 rebounds, and Lyons isn’t far off with 17.4 points and 7.3 boards per game.
Missouri’s resume is solid, with victories over then-No. 19 USC and also California. The Tigers’ only loss was against Xavier, which is now ranked No. 7 and is 9-0 on the season.
Asking Missouri to win the Big 12 North, owned by Kansas 99.9 percent of the time, is a stretch. The Jayhawks should still be the favorite this season. But when you combine the rest of the poor North teams with KU’s youth, the Tigers should finish second in the North at worst.
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Comments
KUPROUD (anonymous) says...
The thought gives me chills, but it is very possible that this is MU's year to WIN the north. At this point they appear far ahead of the jayhawks in their confidence, drive, and team play.
December 17, 2008 at 7:16 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
Trobs (anonymous) says...
Don't worry, if they won it they would then choke it away in the tourney against Oklahoma!HA!...I'm hilarious
December 17, 2008 at 8:24 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
TKELuke (anonymous) says...
The only news about MU that I like to read on this site is how bad we beat them in some sort of sporting event! Mizery will probably do something stupid and lose half of its team because of a bar fight. After confernce play Mizery does no better than 3rd in the North. **Side note: USC is very overrated every year **
December 17, 2008 at 8:24 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
carterpatterson (anonymous) says...
I thought that Big 12 basketball was one big happy conference and while we play North teams twice and south teams once, there is only one division standings.
December 17, 2008 at 8:39 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
rockchalkin54 (anonymous) says...
That's what I was thinking carterpatterson. There aren't divisional titles in Big 12 basketball, so why is anyone worried about it?
December 17, 2008 at 8:54 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
KUFan90 (anonymous) says...
54 - I don't think anyone is "worried". It's just an opinion that MU looks like one of the top teams in the North this year, and I agree.
December 17, 2008 at 9:52 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
esorrentino (Eric Sorrentino) says...
Hey guys,Winning the North would be sort of a mythical thing, because as carter said, the big 12 in hoops is one big happy conference. For Missouri, though, the North would be a start, because there's little to no way the Tigers win the Big 12 this year.KUProud, interesting comment. I think it's certainly possible. I'd argue KU has more talent with considerably better recruits (no surprise there). But who has more experience? This could be a toss-up. Lyons and Carroll are seniors. Aldrich and Collins have won a national title and are surrounded by freshmen. KU-MU should be great games this year.
December 17, 2008 at 9:54 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
jayhawkinatl (anonymous) says...
Yeah, I thought we were talking football again for a second. North/South is meaningless in b-ball.
December 17, 2008 at 10:26 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
KGphoto (anonymous) says...
Personally, I kind of miss the days when KU and MU were battling for supremacy, not only in the conference, but nationally too.I'm surely no MU fan, but I would love to see the Big Eight resuscitate and dominate the southern intruders. Without joining the Big Eight, teams like Baylor, Texas A&M, Tech, and even Texas, would never have improved enough enough in Basketball to be considered factors on the national level.Gimme back the rivalry between black and blue. Derrick Cheivous, Doug Smith, Anthony Peeler, Melvin Booker. Gimme back the true joy of beating a rival of worth.For those younger Hawks, beating Missouri in basketball used to be as big as this year's upset in Arrowhead. Not anymore. Today it's just a boring beat down. I took a friend out to watch the Missouri game last season at AFH. I had been telling him what a great game it would be against a hated border foe. He had a good time, but we just killed Missouri, and ultimately the chills I said he would get never came. The Field House gets loud, but it no longer contains the static that used to build into explosiveness, against a team like Mizzou.I miss that. There really isn't any other team that can bring that back. Texas has been a good rivalry, but it's not the same. Oklahoma and Oklahoma St.? Meh. K-State maybe. But I would love to see Missouri get a great coach and give us a legitimate run. I don't get any enjoyment from beating down inferior teams.And although they're looking good this year, if Mike Anderson's squad doesn't follow-up next year with a solid tourney performance, his 40 minutes of hell will become 4 years of hell, and Mizzou goes back to the drawing board. And KU is left standing there, without a true rival. Let's face it, our rivalry is much like a brotherhood. If Texas or Baylor, Tech or A&M came to our backyard and messed with Mizzou, we'd probably team up with the Tigers to fight the south. Then we'd go back to beating on each other.So for now I'll root for Missouri to resurrect themselves enough to be legit.
December 17, 2008 at 11:43 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
jayhwk5288 (anonymous) says...
why in the world are there stories about how "good" MU is on the kusports website....whats going on?they havent played anyone...USC is overrated, Cal isnt ranked...mizzou sucks and always willrock chalk
December 17, 2008 at 12:10 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
TwinCitiesJHawk (anonymous) says...
No matter what the outcome is after the season, KU still owns them in everything, and they still smell like an old armpit.
December 17, 2008 at 12:36 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
milwaukeeJAYHAWK (anonymous) says...
No worries guys. The Paigs Sports Arena fiasco put a 25-year hex on their program. I'm calling it right now.
December 17, 2008 at 1:11 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
PikesPeakSmitty (anonymous) says...
Right on, Jayhawk5288. The Pac -10 sucks this year. Just look at their standings and who've they've beaten. nobody. The Big 12 has shelled them in the hardcourt matchups. Mizzery will be lucky to make the NIT. Get real Eric, there are alot of good records in the Big 12 right now... it means little
December 17, 2008 at 2:28 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
KGphoto (anonymous) says...
Wow Eric! You really stirred the Jayhawk think tank. I thought the story was relevant considering the possibility of renewing a great rivalry. But you brought the brain-dead haters to life.Stay classy Hawk fans.
December 17, 2008 at 2:44 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
lonestarjayhawk (anonymous) says...
Mizzu sucks! But, your article does have relevance in the fact that everyone has a shot this year. OU has to be the favorite to come away with the title, but they are unproven at the guard positions. There is no doubt that they have talent and inside play, but very unproven. Okie State with a new coach may make some noise just because they have a new coach who know what he is doing, but this is unlikely. Texas is explosive, but they lack a true point guard to run the show. Baylor has guards with experience and interior play to be the team to make a legit run. Can anyone make a run in Colorado? Bzdelick has the pedigree but can they get the players? That leaves KU with youth and inexperience and MU who has done absolutely nothing in the last couple of years. This year is going to be fun!go hawks!
December 17, 2008 at 4:32 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
bashe24 (anonymous) says...
Misery isn't winning the North. Kansas chemistry will be a 98% at that time. They are at maybe a 50% right now. Tyshawn needs to make some layups though for sure.
December 17, 2008 at 10:08 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
actorman (anonymous) says...
KG, you make some interesting points about the rivalry. Of course I remember the more painful side of it, when the tiggers won four consecutive Big 8 titles. Sadly, that was for four of my five years at KU. Man, how I hated Stipanovich Sundvold! The only good thing about those years was that they choked in the tournament every year, so I can still enjoy the fact that they've never made a Final Four.You're right about the intensity in Allen being different than it used to be, but I don't think that's just because of not having a real rival. There are a lot of factors, one of the biggest being that people sit in different seats every year now. I'm sure it's a different atmosphere when you're not always around the same people. And a lot of the most rabid fans have been priced out of the market.Of course by far the most intensity comes from the students, but even there it's seemed a little different to me recently. I think maybe one of the reasons that almost all games used to have intense crowd reactions was that KU wasn't always guaranteed to be great, or even ranked. KU fans have definitely become spoiled over the last 20 years.The last couple of times I've been to a game I have definitely had a different feeling than I used to. It feels like a little bit of the magic has dissipated. On the other hand, it's still better than almost anywhere else in the country, so maybe my standards are just too high.
December 18, 2008 at 12:49 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
actorman (anonymous) says...
Of course I meant Stipanovich AND Sundvold, but it was appropriate to put their names together.
December 18, 2008 at 12:50 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
d_prowess (anonymous) says...
Can we either start on this thread, or get a poll question up asking what people think the KU b-ball record is going to be this year. It think at this point in the season, we have at least a little idea of what we think this team will be, so i think it would be interesting to start throwing out end of year records, with a comment on whether we make the NCAA or not.
December 18, 2008 at 12:52 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
KU62 (anonymous) says...
"I thought that Big 12 basketball was one big happy conference and while we play North teams twice and south teams once, there is only one division standings."Wrong -- each division has it's own standings. However, the conference tournament is seeded by overall league record. This year, for instance, the North champion is likely to be seeded 3rd or 4th in the conf. tourney, depending on league W/L numbers for OU, UT, OkSt, Baylor, A&M, KU, MU, etc.
December 18, 2008 at 5:09 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )