No. 4 Kansas Vs. No. 3 Missouri: Final Chapter In Big 12 Rivalry

The Tigers had control for much of the early goings but the Jayhawks stormed back in the second half, setting up one of the wildest finishes in the rivalry’s 105-year history.

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Pretty fitting end to the Kansas-Missouri series, if it is indeed dead forever. With Missouri off to the SEC, the long-standing rivalry will be discontinued, at least until everyone comes to their senses and renews the yearly matchups. If you tuned in for the final game of the rivalry, you’re probably left wanting for more.

You see, Missouri didn’t get a shot up before the buzzer. There was a shot, though, and perhaps this is the best way to leave the series.

On one end of the floor, Robinson found a sliver of space under the bucket and took advantage. He went up, converted the lay-in and drew the foul, making the free throw to tie the game at 75. But Kansas still had to defend.

And defend Robinson did. With just seconds to go, Robinson found himself under the hoop with a free man running right at him. No problem at all.

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There is much more on the line than pride, however. Kansas leads Missouri by one game in the Big 12, and the Jayhawks can capture the conference crown with a home win. A Missouri win not only gets them back into a tie for first place with Kansas at 13-3, giving them a chance to win the Big 12, but also puts the Tigers firmly into the conversation for a No. 1 seed in the NCAA tournament.

Game Date/Time: Saturday, February 25, 4:00 p.m. ET

For almost 150 years, Missouri and Kansas have played a part in one of the most intense, long-running rivalries in the history of college sports. They each plant a large base of their alumni in one metropolitan area -- Kansas City -- and exchange dirty looks at not only athletic events, but also grocery stores, coffee shops and Home Depots. It is a daily rivalry, unlike almost any in the country, and it stretches far beyond the sporting realm. And as of early Saturday evening, the sporting realm will be finished with it, at least as far as football and basketball go.

The Border War is incredibly contradictory. Both claim athletic superiority. Kansas points to its vast domination -- and it is indeed vast -- of the basketball rivalry; Missouri points to two facts: that it officially “won” the football series last fall no matter who’s counting (Kansas has long claimed a win in the 1960 game that the Big 8 forced them to forfeit due to the use of an ineligible player), and that the Tigers are actually good at sports besides basketball -- since the implementation of the Border Showdown Series in 2002, Missouri has won the all-sports competition seven of nine times and are well on their way to its sixth straight victory. Who wins this argument? Depends on your favorite sport.

Both claim moral superiority. Kansas fans like to call Missouri “slavers” because of the pro-slavery forces from the east that attacked Lawrence during the Civil War. They lay claim to abolitionist John Brown. Missouri fans, meanwhile, point out that a) Missouri’s “Tigers” unit protected Columbia from the same pro-slavery forces long ago (and were also, therefore, on the right side of history), and b) John Brown killed as many innocents as any Missourians did. (The case starts to fray, however, when Missouri fans also try to lay claim to William Quantrill as a “true son” because of that whole “he burned down Lawrence” thing.) Who wins this argument? Nobody. Everybody’s hands got really, really dirty 150 years ago.

Both claim high ground on the issue of conference realignment. With the series facing at least a temporary end, Kansas points out that Missouri is the one leaving, and they have to face the consequences. Basketball coach Bill Self has undergone a series of beautifully patronizing rants on the topic (“They knew when they made the decision that this was going to be something that could affect the future of the relationship.“ “I don’t feel bad. Missouri wanted this, so why should I feel bad? […] The fans to me don’t drive the bus at all. Missouri wanted this. It’s their prerogative.“). Meanwhile, Missouri responds by pointing out that there are plenty of good non-conference rivalries in the world, and that they want to play Kansas, every year, in every sport. Who wins this argument? Nobody. The series is apparently ending regardless, despite ESPN’s two-hour guilt trip of Kansas on Gameday a few weeks ago.

Hell, both even claim ownership of Kansas City. It’s in Missouri! It’s got “Kansas” right there in the title!

Hurt feelings will eventually subside -- and no matter whose side you’re on, it is pretty clear that this is the major impeding factor right now, for better or worse, and the rivalry will almost certainly start up again at some point, in some sports. But for the near future, for all intents and purposes, it ends tomorrow evening.

So what does the Border War mean to ME, a Missouri fan?

It means a brawl at Brewer Fieldhouse.