Kansas to Host Missouri in Border Showdown in Men's Hoops
Jan. 30, 2005
The Border Showdown continues in men’s basketball when Missouri (10-10, 2-5) heads west to Lawrence to face No. 6/7 Kansas (16-1, 6-0) at 6 p.m. on ESPN’s Big Monday. KU stands atop the Big 12 standings at 6-0. The last time the Jayhawks were 6-0 in conference play was when the 2001-02 team went 16-0 en route to the league title. This series dates back to 1907 and KU has won eight of the last nine meetings. Heading into Monday’s battle defending Border Showdown champion Kansas holds a 9-6.5 lead against Missouri through 10 events. Tonight also marks the jersey retirement of former KU great Bud Stallworth.
About Kansas
With ESPN Gameday originating from Allen Fieldhouse, No. 6/7 Kansas improved to 16-1 and 6-0 in Big 12 play with a 90-65 win against No. 16/13 Texas Saturday night. The win marked the second straight game KU has scored 80-plus points and the seventh time this season. The Jayhawks shot 50 percent from the field for the ninth time this season and held their opponent to under 50 percent shooting for the 16th time in 2004-05. Last Tuesday, Kansas had a season-high 24 assists at Baylor and matched that Saturday against Texas. Senior Wayne Simien leads KU in scoring at 17.7 points per game, including 18.6 ppg in Big 12 play. The Preseason Big 12 Player of the Year had a season-high 27 points against Texas. Senior Keith Langford is next in scoring at 14.2 ppg. Langford is third on the team in rebounding (4.3 rpg) and second in assists with 53. Sophomore J.R. Giddens has made multiple three pointers in five of his last six games and is averaging 10.5 ppg. Senior Aaron Miles has crushed every KU and Big 12 assists record and is averaging a league best 7.1 assists per game. Miles is scoring 8.6 ppg and leads KU in three-point field goal percentage at 55.6 (20-for-36). Junior Christian Moody is another starter who is second on the team with a 4.8 rebound average to go along with his 5.9 ppg. Kansas’ bench is deep as it has outscored 12 of 17 foes this season.
Kansas Head Coach Bill Self
Kansas coach Bill Self is 40-10 in his second season at KU and 247-115 in his 12th season overall. Last year, KU posted a 24-9 record and finished tied for second in the Big 12 race at 12-4. KU advanced to the Elite Eight of the NCAA Tournament for the third straight year, falling to Georgia Tech in overtime, 79-71. Self’s 24 victories tied Dick Harp for the most wins by a KU coach in his debut season at Kansas. Prior to KU, Self led Illinois to two Big Ten titles and three straight NCAA Tournament appearances. Before Illinois, he guided Tulsa to two WAC championships in 1999 and 2000 and was The Sporting News National Coach of the Year in 2000. A four-time Naismith Coach of the Year Award finalist, Self began his coaching career at KU in 1985-86 and was an assistant at his alma mater – Oklahoma State – from 1986 until 1993. His first head coaching stint was at Oral Roberts where he guided the Golden Eagles to the NIT in 1996-97, their first postseason appearance since 1983-84. Self is 6-0 against Missouri which includes a 3-0 mark while at KU.
About Missouri
Missouri is looking to turn things arond after its 64-53 loss to Kansas State at Mizzou Arena Saturday. The Tigers have lost two straight heading into Monday and five of their last six. Three of the five losses have been by 10 points or less. Sophomore Linas Kleiza paces MU with a 16 point scoring average and 7.5 rebounds per outing. Senior Jason Conley is next in scoring at 10.1 points followed by sophomore Thomas Gardner at 9.6 ppg. Conley is second on the team in rebounding at 5.5 ppg. Freshman Jason Horton leads MU in assists with a 3.7 per game average.
Missouri Head Coach Quin Snyder
Missouri head coach Quin Snyder is in his sixth season as a head coach at Mizzou. He has a 110-71 overall record and has guided the Tigers to postseason play – four NCAA Tournaments and one NIT – every season in Columbia, Mo. Snyder is 3-9 against Kansas which includes a 0-5 mark in games in Allen Fieldhouse.
KU-MU Series History
Kansas leads the all-time series with Missouri, 160-91… Last meeting saw the Jayhawks defeat the Tigers, 94-69, on March 15, 2004 at American Airlines Center in Dallas, Texas, in the quarterfinals the Big 12 Tournament… KU is on a three-game winning streak against MU… KU coach Bill Self is 6-0 against the Tigers, and MU head coach Quin Snyder is 3-9 versus the Jayhawks… Kansas is 1,018-464 all-time against schools in the Big 12 Conference… KU is 81-33 versus Missouri when playing in Lawrence and 35-14 in games played in Allen Fieldhouse… Kansas is 19-8 versus Missouri when playing in front of a nationally-televised audience… The Jayhawks lost the first-ever meeting with the Missouri Tigers, 34-31, on March 11, 1907, in Lawrence.
Bud Stallworth To Have Jersey Retired
Forner Kansas great Bud Stallworth will have his jersey retired at halftime of the Missouri contest. Stallworth, Darnell Valentine and Jacque Vaughn are the only three players in school history to earn All-American honors both on the floor and academically. The 1972 Big Eight Conference Player of the Year from Hartselle, Ala., Stallworth was a two-time all-league selection and was named Academic All-American in 1971 and All-American the following season. A 6-5 forward, Stallworth’s 50 points against Missouri in 1972 rank second on the KU single-game scoring list. He ended his KU career with an 18.1 scoring average. Stallworth will be the third No. 15 to have his jersey retired at Kansas, joining Ray Evans and Jo Jo White.
Up Next
Kansas hits the road again playing at Nebraska on Saturday, Feb. 5 at 11 a.m. The game will air on ESPN. KU defeated Nebraska 59-57 on January 19 in Allen Fieldhouse.
