**10:24 p.m.**: Here come the No. 1 questions…oh boy…But the Jayhawks did a good job of fending them off, realizing this season is still young despite the shockwaves Maryland and USC made in the college hoops world with upsets today over North Carolina and UCLA, respectively.Russell Robinson said, though, that watching that game in the hotel today did add a little more fire into the Jayhawks’ bellies. Yes, there was space for more even though KU was playing Mizzou.Overall, it was a pretty blah game. Even when the Jayhawks ‘had control,’ they never really _had_ control until there were about 30 seconds left to play. But a game like this was good for the Jayhawks, and coach Bill Self pointed that out in his postgame press conference.Brandon Rush admitted afterwards that he thought he played well even though the shots weren’t going in. It’s not like he was alone there, as the two teams combined to go just 9-of-40 from three-point range.It was pretty light outside of the locker room afterwards, though. Rush took time to meet with his family out on the court, while Darrell Arthur did the same. The sophomore big man helped his younger brother, Juicy, up to grab the rim just like big bro before saying goodbye to him and his mom.On that warm note, here’s some final postgame numbers of interest…-Sherron Collins quietly had a pretty good game off the bench. He had nine points, including a couple of huge back-to-back shots in the second half, and was a spark every time he came in. He also had three assists.-Darnell Jackson and Darrell Arthur continue to shine in the starting lineup aside from one another. Jackson had 13 points on 5-of-7 shooting to go with nine rebounds, while Shady, who also took down nine boards, had 10 points.-Missouri was 5-of-28 from three-point range. In there was a 1-of-9 showing from Matt Lawrence. Brandon Rush said that was the worst he’d ever seen Lawrence shoot the ball. Compared to how the lengthy guard fired the ball last year in Allen Fieldhouse, that’s probably a pretty fair statement.-Lots of opportunities for rebounds in this one. While KU grabbed 38 defensive boards, they limited Mizzou to just 14 offensive caroms. In total, KU out-rebounded MU 52-43.-KU, which had shot free throws much better since the calendar flipped into 2008, made closing it out rough on themselves tonight, connecting on just 28 of 45 attempts at the line.Well, it’s been fun. I’ll talk to you Wednesday night. Keep in mind Iowa State beat Okie State today at home. That game might not be as big of a blowout as you’d think. Talk to you then.**9:09 p.m.**: What exactly was Matt Lawrence thinking there? That’s the dagger, and that’s pretty obvious. With that said, I’ll be back after postgame interviews with some nuggets from outside the KU locker room.**8:45 p.m.**: This has definitely showed some maturity on Brandon Rush’s part. He’s _still_ not hitting shots, but he’s _still_ refusing to go away on offense.It just hasn’t been DeMarre Carroll’s night so far for MU, and that might go down being one of the big storylines on the Tigers side once this game’s done with. Not only has he had to go it alone offensively in the paint against KU’s slew of big men, but he has been completely ineffective running the floor with the exception of one first half dunk. His debut against KU has certainly been a dud. Though the Jayhawks will be able to do that against a lot of teams that have just one major post presence.Also, kudos to Rodrick Stewart, who pulled down a pair of huge defensive rebounds while giving Darnell Jackson a breather with three personal fouls.**8:34 p.m.**: Hannah’s back. Scratch what I said earlier. He’s been a warrior in all three career games he’s played against the Jayhawks. He could still be due for a big stretch run.**8:30 p.m.**: You’re seeing here early in the second half that talent is simply starting to take over for KU. The Jayhawks are crashing the boards hard, too, and that’s been a key.You’ve got to wonder what’s wrong with Stefhon Hannah, as he’s having his shoulder worked on a bit on the sideline. With him and DeMarre Carroll on the bench, MU’s top two scoring threats are now out midway through the second half, though I’m sure Carroll will come back here for the stretch run.**8:00 p.m.**: One word to describe the first half: Bleh.It wasn’t great. Wasn’t horrible. When the second half gets going here, it’s essentially going to be a 0-0 ballgame. Four Jayhawks (Darrell Arthur, Mario Chalmers, Brandon Rush and Sasha Kaun) have two fouls apiece. But after getting the transition defense smoothed out a bit, KU played all right. Rush was aggressive offensively, just didn’t have shots falling. He went just 1-of-7 from the floor in the first 20 minutes. He played 15 of them.Something tells me KU will get shots to fall. There’s certainly been no shortage of opportunities. The Jayhawks clamped down a bit on defense later in the half and Missouri’s looks have diminished.I’d say Kansas should really look to bang inside with Jackson and Arthur right from go. Mizzou’s post players haven’t made much attempt to muscle up inside so far. The opportunities are certainly there. I’m sticking with Arthur as the pick to click. He’s fresh, having played just nine minutes so far, and he’s looked comfortable on offense.Here’s some more first half numbers:-KU outrebounded MU 25-17. The Jayhawks gathered 17 defensive rebounds while allowing the Tigers just three offensive caroms.-Mario Chalmers and Darnell Jackson were KU’s most efficient shooters in the first half, with Chalmers going 3-of-4 from the floor (including two three-pointers) and Jackson hitting four of five looks.-Neither team has lit it up that well from deep. KU was 3-of-10 from three-point range. Mizzou was 3-of-12.-KU wasn’t great from the free throw line, hitting just seven of 14 looks.-Invisible line of the half belongs to Sasha Kaun: 5 minutes played, 0-0 FG, 0-0 FT, 1 rebound, two fouls, two turnovers. Eek.**7:44 p.m.**: If the players look sweatier than normal on your screen, that’s because it’s as hot as an oven in here. They’re keeping the curtains in the tunnels closed to try and trap the warm air, considering it’s probably in single digits outside, though.The Jayhawks are certainly having trouble grabbing and building a lead here early on, but they haven’t looked sluggish at this point after being caught with their shoelaces tied together earlier in the transition defensive sets. Brandon Rush is going hard on offense despite his looks not falling so far, and a fresh Mario Chalmers (sitting most of this half with two fouls) should help early in the second half. KU doesn’t have control of this game, but on the other hand, neither does MU.**7:22 p.m.**: I don’t think it’s the atmosphere getting to the Jayhawks. But for whatever reason, the lockdown defense hasn’t been there so far for KU. They’ve given up three hoops already due to not getting back in transition. Someone’s going to have to be the spark, and Sherron Collins looks like a pretty good candidate. After a nice up-and-under layup, he was a hustle-bug on defense in helping create a turnover.Though the way MU has played so far can’t be a surprise to anyone. You’re seeing year two of Mike Anderson’s system, which is based heavily on speed and getting out in the open floor. The Tigers are certainly doing that right now. And they’ve only hit one three so far…**7:00 p.m.**: Darnell Jackson found a good way to tune out the Antlers during the second shootaround – an iPod.As for the crowd, it’s as close to packed as it can be here. This might be a first, though, this year for the Tigers, who average just over 6,000 fans per home game this year. You almost get the feeling most of these people are here not so much because of how much they love the Tigers, but rather how much they hate KU. Pretty fair assumption, I think.**5:49 p.m.**: Oh boy, the Antlers are at it already.First off, sorry for the late start. Was having Internet woes here in Mizzou Arena. It’s tough to comprehend that, too, since this place is state of the art to the bone. I like it, but I’d much rather watch a game in the Hearnes Center. That place was a true bandbox. It was awesome. This place is a bit more sterile and NBA-like, but I can live with it.Back to the Antlers…They were hollering things such as “I thought you went pro???” at Brandon Rush among some obscenities to start things off. All of the Jayhawks were avoiding it except for one – Sherron Collins. While the team had just emerged for a shootaround, Collins stood near midcourt, staring across the court at the Antlers, nodding his head and smiling while dribbling a ball.Speaking of Sherron Collins, while grubbin’ at Biffle’s Smokehouse in Concordia, Mo., on the way here (try it, by the way, if you haven’t), Tom Keegan said that’s his pick to have a game like [Julian Wright did a year ago][1]. Gary Bedore took Brandon Rush. Nick Krug, our trusty and hard-working photographer, opted for Darnell Jackson. Yours truly selected Darrell Arthur. I’m going with a post guy because, just like last year, Missouri’s post presence is pretty minimal. I’m looking forward to seeing DeMarre Carroll play, but 6-foot-9 Leo Lyons is more of a wing than an inside guy.That’s also the reason I’m picking this score: Kansas 88, Missouri 72.On a day where both UCLA and North Carolina fell, KU simply won’t. Carolina has been flirting with disaster (god bless Molly Hatchet), and is being exposed as a team now with 3.5 great players (Hansbrough, Lawson, Ellington, sorta-Danny Green) and a few gaping holes (such as in the post alongside Psycho-T). As for UCLA, well, after watching USC play earlier this year, you knew Davon Jefferson and O.J. Mayo were capable of something like that.KU just doesn’t have the question marks that those mentioned before do.The one thing that could hurt the Jayhawks today is something Gary is always certain to make everyone aware of – the big guys who can stroke threes. Mizzou certainly has that in Matt Lawrence. At 6-foot-7, he’s hit 41 trifectas this year. He can go off at any moment. Super-nice guy, too, though you probably don’t care for that tidbit.Mizzou’s big void in the starting lineup is at the two-guard spot in the form of senior Jason Horton. As a Michigan fan, I can honestly tell you that the guy is about a quarter of the player in terms of production that his older brother, Daniel, was for the maize and blue. That’s why Mario Chalmers could also be a big-game prospect this afternoon, too.**One final thing**: Yesterday, while enjoying a day off, I spent an hour watching the first half of the 1998 KU-MU game in Columbia on ESPN Classic. A couple of observations from a guy who at the time was far from a follower of Jayhawk hoops.-Roy Williams I’m betting _never_ had to ask those guys to be aggressive on offense. Playing defense, though? Well…-Eric Chenowith was a beast as a freshman. Jeez. He certainly didn’t run the floor like that as a senior. What was the story there?-I’m a huge Paul Pierce guy, though I’d never watched him play in college. He was something else.-How did that team lose in the second round of the NCAA Tournament?Anyways, I’m gonna bounce for now, but I’ll bring you hopefully some more Antler tales before this one gets goin’. [1]: http://www2.kusports.com/news/2008/jan/19/wright_recalls_muzzling_mizzou/?mens_basketball
