Columbia, Mo. ? Slumping Missouri hopes Kansas University is the elixir it needs to cure its women’s basketball ills.
Two weeks ago, the Tigers edged KU, 61-55, in Allen Fieldhouse. Mizzou hasn’t won since, dropping three straight to fall to 7-7 in Big 12 Conference play.
Now the Tigers get the Jayhawks again.
Tipoff will be at 6:05 tonight at the Hearnes Center. The game will be telecast live on Fox Sports Midwest (Sunflower Broadband Channel 51) and broadcast on the Jayhawk Radio Network, including KLWN 1320.
Kansas has woes of its own.
The Jayhawks have dropped six of their last seven outings and might not have Crystal Kemp, their leading scorer at 11.0 points a game. Kemp, a 6-foot-2 freshman from Topeka, suffered a mild concussion in Wednesday’s loss at Kansas State and didn’t practice Thursday.
If Kemp doesn’t play, she probably would be replaced by either Erica Hallman or Nichelle Roberts, also freshmen.
Kansas is hoping to finish strong and avoid the No. 11 seed for the March 11-15 conference tournament in Dallas. KU is currently tied with Texas A&M and Oklahoma State for ninth place in league standings. All three schools have 3-11 records.
If KU wins today and knocks off Iowa State in the home finale next Wednesday, the Jayhawks conceivably could earn the No. 8 seed. However, Iowa State would have to lose at home today to cellar-dweller Nebraska for that scenario to become a possibility.
If KU does win today, it will snap a six-game losing streak against Missouri. The Jayhawks’ last win over the Tigers was a 90-71 decision Jan. 26, 2000, in Allen Fieldhouse.
Kansas continues to lag in league defense and turnover statistics. The Jayhawks are 11th in field goal percentage defense and 12th in three-point field goal percentage defense. KU also ranks last in the league in turnover margin.