Columbia, Mo. ? Just in time for its biggest game of the year, Missouri has hit rock-bottom.
Nothing matters for the Tigers like a game against archrival Kansas University, and the two teams meet tonight in Lawrence. While No. 6 Kansas is coming off a 90-65 victory over No. 16 Texas, Missouri must try to rebound from a humiliating 64-53 loss to Kansas State on Saturday.
Coach Quin Snyder, whose program was slapped by the NCAA for violations right before the start of the season, was not a happy camper Saturday.
“Our team’s devastated right now,” said Snyder, still hopeful of snatching an upset victory tonight.
“We do get a chance to play on Monday and pull off something that no one expects us to be able to do,” he said. “For our team, to be honest, adversity externally like that has been something that we’ve really rallied behind. We’ve got to find a way to get our confidence back.”
Missouri appeared primed to avenge a 74-54 loss at Kansas State on Jan. 15, jumping ahead of the Wildcats 14-2. And, after falling behind, Missouri used a 19-0 run midway through the game to retake that 12-point margin, going ahead 40-28 early in the second half.
Still, the Wildcats (13-4, 3-3 Big 12 Conference) were able to win in Columbia for the first time in 20 years.
“We took a lot of punches and were still able to stand,” Kansas State coach Jim Wooldridge said.
Jeremiah Massey scored 17 points for Kansas State, Fred Peete had 16, and Lance Harris 14. Jimmy McKinney scored 14 points to lead Missouri (10-10, 2-5), which lost for the fifth time in six games. Linas Kleiza had 11.
Snyder said his team played hard, but didn’t always make good choices on offense.
“The zone exposes some of our decision-making,” Snyder said. “That’s just five guys in the paint. If we’re not able to make a jump shot, it’s hard.”
McKinney scored the game’s first seven points en route the 14-2 lead just over five minutes into the game. But after cutting the margin to 16-8, the Wildcats made the defensive switch, and the Tigers stopped working inside and began shooting threes. Thomas Gardner was 1-for-7 from the three-point line, Glen Dandridge 1-for-6.
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