As Alvin Gentry bounced joyously off the floor at Missouri’s Hearnes Center, he turned around and pointed a couple of times at the Antlers section, telling them with his gesture to, in effect, take that.
“I probably shouldn’t have done it,” the Kansas basketball aide reflected following KU’s 82-77 win, “but…,” And then he just grinned.
Ah yes, everybody loves to win at Missouri. With the possible exception of Iowa State, winning at Missouri is the ultimate emotional thrill for visiting coaches and players.
At Iowa State, the public address announcer intimidates visitors, and he does it well. But he’s just one man.
Missouri, however has the Antlers, a geek chorus of 25 or so camouflage-outfitted nimrods who begin sniping at Missouri opponents – they have great seats about 10 rows up at midcourt – as soon as foes hit the floor for pregame warmups.
The only way to shut the Antlers up is to defeat the Tigers. And, believe me, the Antlers were mum after Kansas halted Mizzou’s 21-game homecourt win streak.
Not since Memphis State produced a two-point win in early January of 1987 had an opponent won in Hearnes. The last Big Eight team to stop Missouri at home was Nebraska in February of 1986, more than two years ago.
Danny Manning has played in 137 games as a Jayhawk and said he of Saturday’s win: “It ranks at the top. We were fortunate to do the things we needed to do.”
Fortunate always has something to do with it, of course, but most of the time you make your own fortune, and Kansas appears headed down the homestretch of this up-and-down season convinced its destiny rests in playing like Tasmanian devils on defense and in delivering the ball to Manning’s hands on offense.
Meanwhile, Manning – so clearly determined to conclude his college career with a bang instead of a whimper – has stretched the media’s limit to the point where they’re desperate for fresh adjectives. How about Manningesque? Or Manningly?
Wait…that last one’s an adverb, isn’t it? Oh, well, we’re running out of adverbs, too.
“He’s had by far,” KU coach Larry Brown emphasized about Manning, “his greatest season.”
How far Manning’s “greatest season” will carry the Jayhawks remains to be seen, of course, but I’d be stunned if Kansas – assuming it doesn’t drop its two remaining regular season games – didn’t receive and NCAA bid now.
Then again, to assume anything during this college basketball season may be folly. For example, how do you explain Kansas State halting KU’s 55-game homecourt winning streak, then turning around and losing to the Jayhawks in Manhattan?
One step further, how do you explain Missouri knocking off nationally-ranked Nevada-Las Vegas on the road, then turning around and losing to unranked Kansas at home?
“I saw tape of the Vegas game,” Brown pointed out, “and they (Missouri) were the best team in America.”
On any given day this winter, there’ve been a lot of best teams in America. That’s why few would be surprised if four lightly regarded clubs advanced to Kansas City for the NCAA semifinals on April 2.
Maybe Missouri peaked too soon. Yet the Tigers may be down in a valley only temporarily, and will resurface at tournament time. In the meantime, Kansas has actually been playing at a crescendo for nearly a month now, although not many folks realize it.
Kansas was 6-3 in February – nothing spectacular – yet all three losses were to Top Ten teams – Oklahoma (twice) and Duke. Furthermore, the Jayhawks were in all three of those games until near the end, even against Oklahoma in Norman last Wednesday night.
“We had a chance at Oklahoma,” senior Chris Piper remarked. “I think we’re realizing we’re becoming a good team.”
WInning at Missouri can’t hurt their confidence, that’s for sure.
