Men’s basketball hosts No. 1 Kansas on Sunday

The Border War is back at Mizzou Arena when the University of Missouri men’s basketball team hosts rival and No. 1 Kansas on Sunday afternoon. Tipoff is scheduled for noon on ESPN2.

ACTIONS
• The KC Disc Dogs are scheduled to perform at halftime.
• Complimentary “Beat KU” rally towels will be left at seats at Mizzou Arena.
• The Tigers move out of Mizzou Arena on Sunday with all fans encouraged to wear black or gold, depending on which division they are in.

ABOUT THE TIGER
• Missouri has a 7-1 record in eight games of the 2024-25 season, winning its last seven.
• The Tigers used a dominant second half to overcome a 16-point deficit at halftime and post a 98-93 win over California on Tuesday.
• Caleb Grill leads MU with 13.6 points and 21 3-pointers, but missed the last game due to injury.
• Three more Tigers score in double figures – Tamar Bates (12.3), Mark Mitchell (12.0) and Anthony Robinson II (12.0).
• Robinson also leads Mizzou with 4.3 assists and 1.6 steals Josh Grey has a team-leading 5.3 rebounds per game.
• MU ranks third nationally with an offensive rating of 91.1 points, 84th with a defensive rating of 66.8 and seventh with a points margin of +24.4.

ABOUT THE JAYHAWKS
• Kansas is the No. 1 team in the country in both the AP and USA Today Coaches’ Polls.
• The Jayhawks won their first seven games before losing 76-63 at Creighton on Wednesday.
• Hunter Dickinson leads Kansas with 14.5 points and 9.0 rebounds per game.
• Two more Jayhawks scored in double figures – Zeke Mayo (11.8) and Dajuan Harris Jr. (10.4).
• Harris also has a team-best 6.0 assists per game.
• Kansas is averaging 80.3 points per game this year.

HISTORY OF THE SERIES
• Missouri and Kansas have met on the basketball court 270 times, making the series the 12th most in the NCAA record book.
• Overall, Kansas has a 175-95 edge over the Tigers since the schools first met in 1907.
• The rivals renewed the series in 2021, with Kansas winning the last three seasons.
• The Tigers last beat Kansas in 2012, a 74-71 win at Mizzou Arena.

TIGER VS BIG 12
• MU, a former member of the Big 12 Conference, has a 161-147 record against the league.
• In the Big 12, the Tigers posted a 157-134 record from 1996 to 2012 (139-119 in the regular season and 18-15 in the postseason).
• Since joining the SEC, Mizzou is 4-13 against Big 12 opponents, most recently earning a win over a league opponent over No. 12 Iowa State, 78-61, in 2023.

MIZZOU VS NO. 1
• The Tigers are 4-20 all-time against the No. 1 team in the country with a 3-5 record in Columbia.
• Mizzou has lost its last 10 games against the top team, most recently losing 55-54 to Auburn in 2022.
• The Tigers’ last win over the No. 1 team in the country was in 1997, which handed Kansas its only regular-season loss, a 96-94 double-overtime victory.
• Overall, Mizzou has three wins against No. 1 Kansas (in nine tries) and also had two wins in 1990.

Offensive leaders
• In the first month of the season, MU is proving to be one of the best offensive teams in the country.
• The Tigers are currently one of six schools averaging at least 90 points per game and rank third overall with an offensive rating of 91.1.
• MU scored 98 points in its win over Cal on Tuesday, its most regular-season points against a power conference team since a 98-79 win over Ole Miss in 2013.

TARGET PRACTICE
• The simple key to MU’s success on offense early in the season is efficient shooting.
• The Tigers enter the weekend ranked first in the country with a field goal percentage of 52.6 percent.
• Mizzou has made at least 45.0 percent of its field goals in all eight games this season, the team’s longest streak since 10 games in the 2007-2008 season.

DOMINANT SHOOTING IN THE SECOND HALF
• The best example of the team’s strong performance came in the second half against California on Tuesday.
• Mizzou responded to a 16-point halftime deficit by scoring 63 points and shooting an incredible 84.6 percent (22 of 26) after halftime.
• The 63 points are MU’s most since 64 against Grambling in the second half in 2001.
• Overall, Mizzou shot 66.0 percent in Tuesday’s 98-93 win – its highest shooting percentage since 68.1 percent against Wagner in 2017.

50 PERCENT OR BETTER
• Mizzou has shot 50 percent or better from the field in 5 of 8 games this season.
• The Tigers have already exceeded their hit rate of over 50 percent compared to last season in four of 32 contests.
• Mizzou making half of its field goals is almost a guaranteed win, as MU is 23-1 under Coach Gates when he hits the 50 percent mark.