104 Years of MU-KU Hoops Rivalry Set to Close
LAWRENCE, Kan. — After 266 games dating back over a century, the Missouri Tigers are set to travel to Lawrence to take on the Kansas Jayhawks one last time.
The third-ranked Tigers, who are leaving the Big 12 for the Southeastern Conference at the end of the season, will take on the fifth-ranked Jayhawks on Saturday at 3:00 p.m. at Allen Fieldhouse, bringing to close a rivalry that began (at least on the basketball court) on March 11, 1907, when the Tigers pulled out a 34-31 win against the James Naismith-led Jayhawks in Columbia.
The Tigers won the next day as well, trouncing KU 34-12. But since then, the Jayhawks have taken a clear lead in the overall series, leading 171-95.
Since that first tip-off 104 years ago, there have been plenty of moments of glory – and infamy – for both sides of what was once dubbed the “Border War.”
During the 1909-10 season, the two squads – which included players from the two school’s football teams – played gritty games more at home on the gridiron than the hardwood.
During one game that season, a dismayed KU head coach (and basketball inventor) Dr. James Naismith is reported to have exclaimed “Oh, my gracious! They are murdering my game!”
The rivalry first came to a crescendo during the finals of the 1951 Big 7 Holiday Tournament at Kansas City’s Municipal Auditorium, when KU center Clyde Lovellette stomped on MU star Win Wilfong’s stomach, leading to his ejection.
MU coach Wilbur Stalcup managed to calm enraged Tiger fans through the arena PA system, averting a likely riot.
Then, 10 years later, during an MU loss in Lawrence, a bench-clearing fistfight between the two teams erupted. During the return match in Columbia a few weeks later, and in front of a national television audience, another fistfight broke out when KU star forward/center Wayne Hightower threw a punch after being fouled by MU’s Charlie Henke. Both players were then thrown out of the game.
The incidents, sparked from a controversial football game between the two schools in 1960 that may have caused MU to lose a chance at a national championship, led KU athletic director Dutch Lonborg to briefly consider discontinuing the rivalry.
The Jayhawks hold the distinction of having defeated MU in the final games of the first two arenas the Tigers called home. In 1971, KU topped the Tigers 72-68 in the final-ever game at MU’s Brewer Fieldhouse, while in 2004 the Jayhawks’ David Padgett hit a basket with two seconds left in the game to beat MU 84-82 in the final-ever game at the Hearnes Center.
In 2003, during the halftime of the KU-Texas game in Lawrence, recently-retired longtime MU coach Norm Stewart was honored with a new rocking chair by the University of Kansas. During Stewart’s time with the Tigers, he would often jump up off the bench to argue a call – prompting KU fans to chant “Sit down, Norm.”
In their final showdown in Columbia on February 4, Marcus Denmon led the Tigers with a pair of clutch 3-pointers to lead MU past KU 74-71. It was the Tigers first win against the Jayhawks since 2009, and only their second win in their last 12 games against KU.
