With just four losses through their first 51 games combined, the Baylor Bears, Missouri Tigers, and Kansas Jayhawks were projected to battle it out in a Big 12 fight that very well could have gone down to the wire this sports betting season. However, despite having the best non-conference record once the Big 12 play got underway, the Bears proved that they couldn’t keep up with the two best teams in the conference, losing all four of their games to Missouri and Kansas. That left the Tigers and Jayhawks alone at the top of the conference standings heading in to the final stretch before the March Madness betting begins, and with just one game between them, this Saturday’s showdown at the Phog Allen Fieldhouse should be the most highly anticipated game of the week.
Missouri heads in to this weekend one game back of Kansas for top spot, but they have nobody else to blame but themselves for not being tied after dropping a crucial home against the Kansas State Wildcats on Tuesday. That loss ended a string of seven straight wins for the Tigers, and in the end it proves that the Wildcats were Missouri’s biggest nemesis as two of their three losses this year came Rodney McGruder and company. The Tigers still have the chance to rebound and finish the year as the top seed in the Big 12 with their final two games against unranked teams in Iowa State and Texas Tech, but the first and most difficult step will be to beat Kansas on the road this Saturday in their final game before the NHL trade deadline day happens on Monday.
The Jayhawks haven’t forgotten about their loss toMissouriearlier this month, a 74-71 defeat at the Mizzou Arena that marked their second in three games after an even tougher loss to the unranked Cyclones a week earlier.Kansashas responded with five straight wins with three of those victories coming via double-digit point totals, and similar to the Tigers’ schedule, Thomas Robinson and company will finish their Big 12 season against two unranked teams inOklahomaStateandTexas. Capturing an eighth straight Big 12 title in one of the toughest conferences in the nation would be a pretty impressive feat, and it could come down to this weekend’s game if Kansas is going to get the job done.
Tightening up on the defensive end of the floor will be the toughest task for the Jayhawks, but it could make the difference between winning and losing. Playing in front of the home fans will provide a more favorable atmosphere than the first meeting between these teams, and if they can defend the three-ball and play good perimeter defense, then on paper they should have the edge as the per head favorite. Marcus Denmon hit two clutch three-balls in the final 2:05 of the fourth quarter that sent the crowd into a frenzy in the first meeting, and the electric atmosphere at the Mizzou certainly contributed to a couple of missed free throws for the Hayhawks down the stretch in the loss. How different will things be inKansas this weekend? Only time will tell as we get ready to tune in to the most highly anticipated matchup of the weekend.
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