Volume 124 Issue 104
kansan.com
Friday, February 24, 2012
HIGH NOON
THE LAST DANCE
Jayhawks, Tigers prepare for possible last game
KORY CARPENTER kcarpenter@kansan.com
There wasn't a shortage of type leading up to the first meeting between Kansas and Missouri on Feb. 4 in Columbia. But unlike many heavily publicized games these days, the first installment of the Border Showdown lived up to its buildup, with the Tigers pulling away with a 74-71 victory.
Now with the Big 12 regular season championship on the line Saturday afternoon, the hype is back. The Allen Fieldhouse concourse looks more like an emergency shelter with the blankets and mattresses of eager campers strewn across the floor since Sunday morning's lottery.
CHRIS NEAL/KANSAN FILE PHOTO
"The Baylor game this year was pretty good," coach Bill Self said. "There have been so many that have been good, but I think this one, with our fans, will have a different feel."
Junior guard Travis Releford said his team gave the first game away and thinks the key for a different outcome this time around is execution and defense, two things that weren't present in the final two minutes of play in Missouri Arena.
Junior center Jeff Withey tips off against Missouri's senior forward Ricardo Ratliffe during the Saturday night's last match-up between the two teams at Missouri's home court. Kansas plays Missouri this Saturday afternoon at Allen Fieldhouse.
"We're playing for a Big 12 title, and this is a big game for us." Releford said. "The rivalry, the title and they beat us at their place. There are a lot of factors to it."
The Jayhawks will have history on their side, as the Tigers haven't won in Allen Fieldhouse since the 1998-1999 season. The last time they faced off as top-5 opponents in Allen Fieldhouse, however, No. 2 Missouri upset
No. 1 Kansas 77-71 on Feb.
13, 1990.
Fast forward 22 seasons, and Bill Self is looking for any edge possible to avenge the loss to the Tigers. He'll have help from Kansas State, who recently completed a season sweep of Missouri. Self said looking at the film of those two games is on his to-do list.
Self applauded Kansas State's ability to consistently get the ball inside and stay aggressive throughout the games against Missouri, something his team wasn't able to do in Columbia. Junior center Jeff Withey attempted just one shot and was held scoreless against the Tigers while having trouble against the smaller lineup, playing for just 22 minutes.
"I think there are a lot of keys to Jeff staying on the floor," Self said. "One is that he needs to be more aggressive and be more of a presence."
Withe echoed those sentiments and said his confidence has "grown a tremendous amount" since then.
Which team makes the better adjustments before Saturday's 3 .p.m. tipoff remains to be seen, but some things are certain.
"I think it be will the best that I've seen it in my four years here," senior guard Tyshawn Taylor said of the atmosphere, according to kuathletics.com. "It's going to be crazy, but I'm excited and I'm ready for it."
Edited by Nadia Imafidon
CAMPUS
Only one group abandons camp site
LUKE RANKER/KANSAN
From the left to the right: Sam Kovzan, sophomore from Leawood and Tansey Schoonover, a freshman from Roswell, Georgia, work on speeches for their communication class while Emily Pfeifer, a freshman from Hays, studies biology. Kovzan said they had been camping for about 30 minutes when several basketball players came out for a press conference.
ETHAN PADWAY epadway@kansan.com
Before even the gods wake up, students descend on the north concourse of Allen Fieldhouse to ensure their camping group keeps its spot in line for the Missouri game. With this contest set to be the last tilt in the foreseeable future of a rivalry that predates the advent of collegiate athletics, students are desperate to secure their seat and witness history.
"I think it's pretty crazy," Colin Vipond, a freshman from Omaha, said. "Being from Nebraska, it's all about football. Now it's all about basketball. I was in shock when I first heard about camping."
"It was good," Kyle Haley, a junior from Hays, said about interacting with the players. "It's different I guess, knowing they're my age. It's kind of unique that they're as popular as they are."
Normally, the camping is not as intense. But for Missouri, everyone is trying to get the best seats possible.
"I just know usually within the first few days people drop like flies, but only one group has dropped out ahead of us so far," Vipond said.
Worse than waking up early is the fear that a camper might oversleep his or her shift. In her freshman year, Maggie Hirschi, a senior from St. Louis, Mo., woke up at 5:55 a.m. for her 6 a.m. camping shift at the Fieldhouse before a game against Texas. She rushed over from her Oliver Hall dorm room but arrived too late, and her group lost its number three camping spot.
Haley got to split a Pizza Hut cheese pizza, delivered to him by junior guard Elijah Johnson, with another camper. But pizza time is not the only time the campers can catch a glimpse of the players.
ketball teams are known to come around and deliver pizza to the hungry campers some nights. One night, junior forward Kevin Young pushed junior forward Thomas Robinson around in a laundry hamper as the players delivered pizza.
"I try to attempt doing homework, but it doesn't really work." Vipond said. "So, basically just surf the Internet. Sometimes I sleep, if you have an early shift, but it's really hard on this floor."
Index CLASSIFIEDS 2B CROSWORD 4A CRYPTOQUIPS 4A SPORTS 1B OPINION 5A SUDOKU 4A
The north concourse will continue to bustle with student activity until numbers are handed out three hours before tip-off on Saturday.
stands over a foot tall.
"I'm looking at the gods of our school," Tansey Schoonover, a freshman from Roswell, Ga, said as students gathered to watch the men's basketball team walk to practice.
"Mizzou ones just are always fun because you see the dedication students have to come to these games," Hirschi said.
The men's and women's bas
Students try to maintain sanity during hours of camping. Vipond's group pitched in together to purchase an air mattress that
COMMENTARY Cold War rivalry is soulless
— Edited by Ian Cummings
Kansas without Missouri is like Batman without The Joker or the Hatfields without the McCoys. Would anyone really care about one without the other? Thanks to a need for attention from one side and a stubbornness from the other, we are about to find out.
If you're one of the more than 15,000 fans blessed enough to be at the season finale of the Border Showdown tomorrow, do yourself a favor: take a brief timeout from screaming at the top of your lungs to soak in the atmosphere.
Both teams will continue winning basketball games. Missouri might even win a championship in the SEC. But left in the wake of Saturday's game will be a tremendous void that a hundred games against West Virginia or South Carolina could never fill.
Hatred is what will make Saturday's environment breathtaking. While the hate will not subside when Missouri splits for the Southeastern Conference, both teams will lose an opportunity to display it on a national stage. And like it or not, hating Missouri is one of the main components of Kansas' identity. Likewise, hating Kansas is a critical part of Missouri's makeup.
Keep those memories some- where you will remember forever, because if a group of powerful men in suits and women in pantsuits get their way, it will be the last time it ever happens.
Take a mental picture of the raucous student section jumping up and down. Appreciate the historic arena as it sways back and forth from the jet-like decibel level. Embrace the unconditional love for the Jayhawks and the unabashed hatred of the Tigers.
When the game ends, win or lose, take one last mental picture of the aftermath. Because if the powerholders get their way, that memory is all your children and grandchildren may ever know of one of the greatest rivalries ever played.
Through both schools' actions, a Border Cold War is almost guaranteed. And by abandoning a rivalry that dates back to the Civil War, both schools are participating in a mutually assured destruction of their legacies.
Kansas vs. Missouri is one of the most impassioned rivalries of all time, ranking up there with Muhammad Ali vs. Joe Frazier, Pepsi vs. Coke and Quin Snyder vs. ethics. But the Border War is on the cusp of becoming the Border Cold War, where battles will not take place on football fields and basketball courts but rather on talk-radio shows and message boards. Bragging rights will be nonexistent when the head-to-head battles cease, leaving fans to toss grenades across the states' border in the form of tacky YouTube videos.
All contents, unless stated otherwise. © 2012 The University Daily Kansan
Edited by Taylor Lewis
Get your ticket for the Campus Movie Series at the Kansas Union. Tonight's featured film is "The Muppets."
Today's Weather
Strong winds, mostly cloudy.
Gone with the wind.